Ex-TPG China chairman launches blank check company

TKK Symphony Acquisition is offering 23 million units – each of which entitles the owner to one ordinary share, one redeemable warrant, and a right to one 10th of an ordinary share once a deal is consummated – for $10.00 apiece. The vehicle is sponsored by TKK Capital, a private equity and wealth management business controlled by Wang.

Concurrent to the IPO, Hong Kong-listed Symphony Holdings, which has interests spanning real estate and the distribution of consumer brands, has committed $5.5 million to the business through a private placement of warrants, according to a prospectus.

TKK will make investments in consumer and lifestyle assets that are relevant to the China market. These could include consumer staples, luxury products and brands in the fashion, cosmetics and entertainment spaces, e-commerce and online retail, and vitamins and nutrition products.

Wang has teamed up with Ian Lee, a former colleague at TPG who served as CFO of the firm’s renminbi-denominated funds and as an operating partner of a China-focused media investment platform it established with Evolution Media Partners. Wang is CEO of TKK, Lee is CFO, and Ronald Issen, an experienced Asia business executive who was previously a senior advisor at Apollo Global Management, is CIO.

Wang spent close to 10 years at TPG. Before that, he served as CEO of Chinese media and internet conglomerate TOM Group and was a founding member of Goldman Sachs' Asia private equity team. He departed TPG in 2015 and joined China Minsheng Financial Holding, an overseas investment platform controlled by China Minsheng Group, as CEO the following year. He held that position until December 2017.

Minsheng Financial was known as China Seven Star Holdings until its acquisition by a Minsheng Group subsidiary in 2015. Earlier this year, Wang was appointed CEO of CM Seven Star Acquisition, a dedicated acquisition vehicle sponsored by China Minsheng Investment Group. CM Seven Star sought to raise $180 million through a US offering. As of March, it had $207.6 million in assets.

Last week, Parag Saxena, co-founder and CEO of Indian private equity firm New Silk Route, launched a blank check company called Tenzing Acquisition. The goal is to raise $50 million for investments in Indian businesses.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Fundraising
• Growth
• Consumer
• China
• TPG Capital