CPPIB's Asia PE portfolio grows 24% to reach $9.9b

CPPIB had C$316.7 billion in total assets – up from C$278.9 billion a year earlier – of which 1.8% was in emerging markets private equity and 16.3% was in non-Canadian developed markets private equity. Participation in Asia PE has grown steadily, rising from C$1.7 billion in the 2013 financial year to C$10.8 billion in 2016.

Distributions from the portfolio came to C$1.2 billion for the year, while CPPIB closed five direct investments for C$800 million and made C$1.9 billion in commitments to five funds. The pension plan also completed its first secondary transaction in the region worth C$100 million, according to its annual report.

Warburg Pincus is the only new relationship among the fund commitments, with CPPIB contributing $100 million to the GP’s first China fund, which closed at $2 billion last December. The pension plan did not name the other four fund investments, but since the start of 2016 it has backed funds raised by FountainVest Partners, MBK Partners, Anchor Equity Partners, Bain Capital, CITIC Capital, Hillhouse Capital and PAG Asia Capital. Some of these commitments were made in the previous financial year.

The direct investments include: Japan-based Accordia Golf, as part of a JPY102.5 billion ($912 million) buyout led by MBK; India’s Bharti Infratel, a $300 million contribution to a INR62 billion ($953 million) deal also involving KKR; and Korea-based Daesung Industrial Gases, another MBK co-investment with CPPIB putting in $137 million for an 18% stake. A $4.3 billion take-private of Nord Anglia Education with Baring Private Equity Asia was announced after the end of the financial year.

The pension plan has yet to make any solo direct private equity investments in Asia, although earlier this year it acquired a 48% stake in GlobalLogic, an IT outsourcing company founded by several Indian entrepreneurs and which continues to have a sizeable presence in the country.

The Asia private equity portfolio generated a net return of 12.8% for the year ended March 2017. For the developing markets and non-Canadian developed markets PE, the gross return was 15.4% and 15.8%, respectively. The gross investment return on the entire portfolio was 12.2%, and 11.8% on a net basis.

In addition to C$57.8 billion in private equity – up from C$55.1 billion the previous year – CPPIB had C$40.1 billion in real estate, C$24.3 billion in infrastructure, C$8.7 billion in other real assets, C$16.8 billion in private debt, and C$4.8 billion in private real estate debt. The overall private markets program has C$152.5 billion in assets, compared to C$132.9 billion in the 2016 financial year.

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• Topics
• LPs
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• Asia
• CPPIB