Northstar seeks $800m for Southeast Asia fund

The firm closed its previous vehicle at $810 million in 2015 after a challenging fundraising process that coincided with the end of the commodities boom and economic difficulties in Indonesia. Having emerged during the commodities upcycle and when competition for deals in Indonesia was less intense, Northstar has since refocused on consumer and financial services, with a strong technology overlay.

Recent investments include Bank Artos, which is being converted into a fully digital bank in collaboration with Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN). Northstar previously owned BTPN – it bought a majority stake with TPG Capital in 2008 and exited about six years later with a sizeable return – but the strategy was manifestly different, concentrating on traditional branch expansion rather than digitization.

Technology is also a key value driver in Fund IV through Go-Jek, an Indonesian ride-hailing and online-to-offline services platform valued at $10 billion. Northstar took part in the Series B round but first got to know founder Nadiem Makarim much earlier when he worked for another portfolio company. Go-Jek's Series A was led by NSI Ventures, a VC arm of Northstar that became fully independent last year and rebranded as Openspace Ventures.

Go-Jek has expanded from ride-hailing into several other verticals, including financial services. Northstar is advising on the development of Go-Pay and is an investor in Go-Ventures, the VC arm of Go-Jek. This is intended to give the firm insight into early-stage technology trends and access to investments in the space as start-ups mature.

Northstar is said to have made a partial exit in Go-Jek's Series F round, which is expected to reach $2 billion across multiple tranches. Another Fund IV liquidity event came with the IPO of Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Syariah (BTPS), a BTPN subsidiary that specializes in shariah-compliant lending. Meanwhile, Fund III has secured exits in the past 18 months from the likes of BFI Finance, Multistrada Arah Sarana, and Thai Credit Retail Bank.

The firm was founded in 2003 by Patrick Walujo and Glenn Sugita. They pursued a combination of small investments and M&A advisory work before raising a debut fund of $110 million. A second vehicle closed at $285 million in 2010 and a third – which saw the remit expand from Indonesia to Southeast Asia – at $820 million in 2011. That year, TPG acquired a minority stake in Northstar, which in turn received a smaller interest in the global private equity firm's Asia business.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Fundraising
• Growth
• Technology
• Consumer
• Indonesia
• Northstar Group