Centurium seeks $2.5b for second China fund

Centurium was established by David Li, formerly China head at Warburg Pincus, in 2016. Fund I launched in March of last year with a target of $1 billion. The hard cap was set at $1.5 billion and then increased to $1.98 billion with a final close of $2 billion coming in July. LPs include GIC Private, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), and Washington State Investment Board.

AVCJ was told of the new fundraise by sources familiar with the situation. A separate source indicated that Centurium has committed approximately 80% of the Fund I corpus across nine investments, of which two have yet to formally close.

The firm pursues control and significant minority deals in China’s consumer, services and healthcare sectors, with a focus on technology-enabled transformation. It typically uses a B2B2C model to drive industry consolidation and consumer engagement. A common theme is the use of technology to generate more efficiencies and reduce costs.

The firm’s most high-profile investment is Luckin Coffee, which has become China’s second-largest coffee shop chain on the back of an aggressive store expansion program and leveraging technology to deliver supply chain efficiencies and customer insights. The company went public earlier this year.

However, the transformation thesis is apparent in several other Centurium investments. For example, eyewear brand Loho is pursuing an automated supply chain model that reduces the time taken for a new design to go from conception to launch, while Happy Kids Education and Keking provide online platforms that facilitate information exchange to kindergartens and logistics businesses, respectively.

The firm has built up a team of approximately 20 investment professionals, including an in-house operations function. Recruits include Michael Chen, who joined as a partner in July. Chen used to work with Li at Warburg Pincus. On the operations side, efforts are led by Lei Lin, a serial entrepreneur who previously founded automotive research business Sinotrust Market Research, and Eric Wang, the former China head of Alvarez & Marsal.

Li spent 14 years with Warburg Pincus, building the China franchise and leading numerous investments, before departing in early 2016. Prior to launching the first US dollar fund, he raised two renminbi pools of capital, a healthcare-focused fund and a joint investment vehicle with chauffeured car services business Ucar. Li backed Ucar while at Warburg Pincus and Jenny Qian, the company’s former COO, is the founder of Luckin.

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

• Topics
• Greater China
• Fundraising
• Buyout
• GPs
• China
• Centurium Capital