Japan's Advantage closes debut Asia fund at $380m

It first emerged that the private equity firm would seek to raise an Asia ex-Japan vehicle – with a mooted target of $400 million – in 2015 and the first filing was made in January of the following year. At that point, Advantage had made four Asia investments out of its Japan funds: Qin Jia Yuan Media Services, Qingdao Hisense Broadband Multimedia, and ESG, all of which are based in China, and GTA TeleGuam.

Two of the Chinese companies, including facilities management services player ESG, were sold last year to Primavera Capital Group. GTA TeleGuam, the principal telecommunications provider on the US island of Guam, was acquired by US-based family office Huntsman Family Investments.

The Asia fund will continue Advantage’s strategy of pursuing small to mid-cap investments in businesses outside of Japan where there is a Japan-related value creation angle. This may involve market entry, acquiring local companies, or leveraging Japanese expertise in areas such as branding, technology, and advanced management techniques. The private equity firm opened a Hong Kong office in 2008 and now has bases in Shanghai and Singapore, as well as in Tokyo.

The fund has so far made four investments: Zheng Yi Wei, a Beijing-based operator of Korean restaurants; Plastic Centre Group, a Malaysian consumer packaging manufacturer; an unnamed Taiwanese manufacturer of eggs and egg-related products; and a Shanghai-based education services provider, also unnamed.

LPs include Japanese corporations, banks, family offices, global funds-of-funds and pension funds. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) committed $50 million to the vehicle, while Mitsui & Co. is also an investor.

Advantage was founded in 1992 and raised its first buyout fund five years later once regulators permitted the establishment of such vehicles. It has raised approximately $3.5 billion across five funds and invested in 60 companies to date. The firm closed its most recent Japan-focused vehicle last year at the hard cap of JPY60 billion ($535 million).

MVision was the placement agent for Advantage Partners Asia Fund, while Debevoise & Plimpton acted as legal counsel.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Fundraising
• Buyout
• GPs
• Asia
• Japan
• Advantage Partners