Caldera signs up French anchor LP for Southeast Asia fund
Caldera Pacific, a consumer-focused Southeast Asian private equity firm, has secured $250 million in commitments for its debut fund, with France-based investor Argenthal coming in as an anchor LP.
A first close is scheduled for the end of March with a first investment to come shortly thereafter. Caldera Pacific Fund I was formally launched last August with a target of $200 million. The firm is now looking to raise a larger sum and the hard cap has been set at $350 million, according to a source familiar with the situation. Caldera declined to comment on fundraising.
The GP was established by Raphael Gaglio, formerly of Apollo Global Management and Silverhorn Investment, a Hong Kong-based boutique investment firm. Having set up Silverhorn in 2010, Gaglio led a spin-out of the PE operation in 2014 and this formed the basis of Caldera. Sascha Wagner, previously of Partners Group, and Sean McAuliffe, formerly a counsel at Skadden, are the other two partners. Both joined the firm in 2015. Prior to the fund launch, the team worked on a deal-by-deal basis.
Caldera invests in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore, as well as selectively in the Philippines. However, half the fund corpus is expected to be deployed in Vietnam, in part due to the firm's experience in the country. Its largest existing investment is in the holding company of Vietnam-based asset manager Dragon Capital. Caldera has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, and Ho Chi Minh City.
The sector focus is consumer but defined deliberately broadly: any industry driven by the region's emerging consumer class is considered, including healthcare, financial services, education and logistics. The objective is to take significant minority stakes in profitable small and medium enterprises with equity investments starting at $10 million.
Argenthal is an investment group with over EUR4 billion ($4.4 billion) in assets. Real estate is the largest vertical, principally comprising residential properties in Provence and the French Riviera. Within private equity, the firm concentrates on global middle-market financing opportunities, notably in real assets. Argenthal also has various investment affiliates, including strategic stakes in some wealth management and asset management businesses, to which it provides financial services.
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