Baring Asia closes Fund VII at $6.5b

The final close came at the end of 2019 after the firm secured a six-month extension to its fundraising period to accommodate some investors. The vehicle launched in early 2018 with a target of $5.5 billion and reached a first close of $4.5 billion in July of that year. The hard cap was subsequently set at $6.5 billion. 

The process was longer than for Baring's sixth fund, which raced to a final close of $3.98 billion in early 2015 – having increased the hard cap – after eight months in the market. The manager raised $2.46 billion for Fund V. Baring's increases in fund size with each vintage are in keeping with the habits of its pan-regional peers, several of which have now breached the $6 billion mark.

MBK Partners is currently in the market with its fifth fund, having set the hard cap of $6.5 billion, while Affinity Equity Partners and PAG Asia Capital have both raised around $6 billion in recent years. The Carlyle Group sits above Baring in the rankings with $6.55 billion for its latest pan-Asian fund. KKR has set a target of $12.5 billion for its fourth regional vehicle, which would surpass Hillhouse Capital's $10.6 billion as the largest on record. KKR raised $9.3 billion for Fund III.

Most of the capital for Baring's latest vehicle came from pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. LPs that have disclosed their participation include Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS), Los Angeles Fire & Police Pensions, Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Employees Retirement System of Texas, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, and HSBC Private Banking, according to AVCJ Research.

The strategy is unchanged. Baring will focus on mid- and large-cap buyouts across Asia as well as targeting global companies that can benefit from further Asian exposure. Healthcare, education, IT services, business services, financial services, consumer and advanced manufacturing are likely to feature prominently. 

"During our history of investing in Asia over the last 23 years, we have seen a transformation in the scale and quality of businesses in the region and Asian private equity now operates on a global scale. We have conviction that the higher rates of growth in the region and maturing market opportunity will continue to offer superior returns to investors in the coming years," Jean Eric Salata, Baring's CEO and founding partner, said in a statement.

Founded in 1997, the firm has more than $20 billion in committed capital and around 150 professionals across offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, Singapore, Tokyo and New Delhi. It has real estate and India credit strategies in addition to private equity.

According to Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS), Baring's sixth fund had delivered a multiple of 1.31x and an IRR of 15.9% as of March 2019. This compares to 1.44x and 10.5% for Fund V and 1.63x and 9% for Fund IV.

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

• Topics
• Fundraising
• Buyout
• GPs
• Asia
• Baring Private Equity Asia