China’s GenBridge closes debut fund at $500m hard cap

GenBridge Capital Fund I was launched in December of last year with a target of $400 million. Singapore’s GIC Private came in as the anchor LP, with JD.com also committing a sizable amount. 

The fund, which started marketing in March, was substantially oversubscribed. Other investors include the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – which proposed to invest up to $25 million in September – fund-of-funds Asia Alternatives, as well as pension funds and family offices in the US, Europe, and Asia. 

GenBridge’s founders and partners are Bin Chang, Hugh Li, and Xinzhao Zhang. Chang and Zhang were both previously members of JD.com’s investment and strategy department. Before that, they worked at Capital Today and China International Capital Corporation, respectively. Li used to be an investment professional at TPG.

The firm, which has already completed two deals, targets investments in Chinese consumer brands and retailers. It seeks to differentiate itself by leveraging relationships with Chinese technologies companies such as JD.com and Tencent Holdings to generate deals that wouldn’t ordinarily be available and through post-investment value-add, Li told the AVCJ USA Forum in July.

GenBridge is one of several GPs established by executives spinning out from one of China’s internet giants. Richard Peng, head of M&A at Tencent, left the company in 2015 and launched Genesis Capital, a late-stage VC firm, while several former Baidu employees created Xianghe Capital.

Eaton Partners served as placement agent for GenBridge Capital Fund I.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Fundraising
• Consumer
• Growth
• China
• GIC Private
• Asia Alternatives Management
• LPs
• JD.com
• International Finance Corporation
• GenBridge Capital