Permira closes seventh global PE fund at $12b
Permira has reached a final close on its seventh global private equity buyout fund at the hard cap of EUR11 billion ($12.1 billion).
The firm said it was strongly supported by existing investors, as well as a substantial number of new relationships across various geographies. It comes almost three years after closing Fund VI at EUR7.5 billion with commitments from the likes of Minnesota State Board of Investment, New York State Nurses Association Pension Plan & Benefit Fund, and The Kroger Co Master Retirement Trust.
Fund VII will follow a similar strategy to its predecessors, targeting leading businesses in five core sectors, including technology, consumer, financial services, healthcare, and industrial tech and services. Permira will leverage market-relevant expertise to support portfolio companies, with a view to helping them become pan-regional or global players in their respective markets.
“We see considerable opportunities across all types of companies, ranging from family-owned businesses who may be looking for expansion capital or helping them to address succession planning issues, through to carve-outs from major corporations and opportunities in the secondary investment market,” Alex Emery, head of Asia at Permira, said in a statement.
Permira has deployed about EUR3.3 billion in Asia Pacific since 2005. Recent investments include Taiwan-based aquatic feed producer Grobest, Hong Kong-based aviation industry supplier Topcast, Hong Kong corporate services provider Tricor, and I-Med, an Australian radiology services player acquired from EQT Partners in a dea worth about $1 billion.
Standout exits include restaurant chain Sushiro, which realized a gross multiple of 2.9x following a Tokyo IPO in 2017, Japanese chemicals maker Arysta LifeSciences, which generated a 1.6x return when it was sold to a US strategic in a $3.5 billion deal in 2014, and Galaxy Entertainment, a Macau casino operator that generated a 2.8x return on investment in 2012.
Permira has plans to expand its Asia program with a dedicated fund for the region, but has recently put a fundraising process on hold, citing a desire to optimize portfolio performance before returning to the market. A source familiar with the matter had stressed that the move did not constitute a cancellation. The fund contemplated raising about $1.5 billion.
Earlier this year, Permira closed its Growth Opportunities Fund at $1.7 billion with a view to making minority equity investments in fast-growing tech-enabled businesses. The London-headquartered firm, which is better known for buyout and credit strategies, had targeted a corpus of $2 billion. The fund will invest globally, with a focus on the firm’s five core sectors.
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