China Everbright, Investcorp deepen China tech partnership
China Everbright and Investcorp have agreed to combine their respective China technology-focused investment teams and co-manage a recently launched fund targeting the sector.
Everbright’s $600 million New Economy Fund was set up last year with a $150 million commitment from Investcorp that marked the Bahrain-listed asset manager’s first foray into China. The decision to combine teams and investment committees to jointly manage the vehicle is expected to enhance synergies between Investcorp’s global technology experience and Everbright’s China expertise.
“This is our most significant step so far towards expanding our footprint into the fastest growing economy in the world,” Hazem Ben-Gacem, co-CEO of Investcorp, said in a statement. “We believe our partnership with Everbright will help grow our investments in China and specifically in the technology sector. Our success in investing in technology companies in Europe positions us favorably to be a value-add investor to growth companies in that sector.”
The New Economy Fund targets areas such as e-commerce, internet services, smart retail, and artificial intelligence (AI) with a focus on China-based companies and global businesses developing China strategies. Existing portfolio companies are said to include one of the world’s largest online-to-offline consumer services platforms, as well as market leaders in mobile e-commerce, long-form and short-form online video, and deep-learning AI.
Everbright is considered one of China’s major players in the development of next-generation infrastructural technologies such as 5G and internet-of-things (IoT). Earlier this year, the firm led the first phase of a Series C round of $280 million for Terminus Technologies, a local supplier of city-level IoT systems. This followed the establishment of a $288 million fund-of-funds focused on industrial technologies alongside the Jiangsu province government.
Investcorp claims to have made $28.2 billion in assets under management globally. The firm has invested more than $1.5 billion since 2001 in technology businesses across the US, Europe and Asia. It plans to build out a $50 billion portfolio in Asia within the next seven years, with recent activity including the acquisition of a private equity and real estate platform in India.
More on Greater China
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.