Hillhouse agrees partnership with Jardines

Collaboration between the two parties will also cover value creation within their respective portfolios, with a focus on technology-oriented consumer business models and digital enablement. John Witt, group managing director at Jardines, said in a statement that the initiative is an important part of the company’s innovation and digitalization drive.

Michael Yi, co-CIO of Hillhouse added: “We are excited about the potential of this strategic co-operation and look forward to deepening our co-operation with Jardines across Asia. With both parties’ extensive regional knowledge and operational expertise, we look forward to finding mutually beneficial opportunities on which to collaborate and create value across our portfolios.”

Hillhouse makes healthcare, consumer, technology, and services investments globally, but with a focus on Asia. It operates across private and public markets. The firm is currently raising a trio of funds: $9.5 billion for buyouts, $2.5 billion for growth, and reportedly $1 billion for venture.

Founded in China in 1832, Jardines rose to prominence as one of the original Hong Kong trading houses. It is now a diversified conglomerate that generated $90.9 billion in revenue last year.

Key assets include real estate in Hong Kong and Singapore; retail and food and beverage chains – either directly owned or under franchise agreements – such as Wellcome, Mannings, Ikea, 7Eleven, Pizza Hut, and KFC; automotive manufacturing operations and motor dealerships; and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. It also has interests in engineering, financial services, mining, and agribusiness.

Jardines is controlled by its founding family and primarily operates through two listed subsidiaries, Jardine Matheson and Jardine Strategic. It was recently announced that the former would acquire the latter, removing a cross-shareholding structure that was designed to thwart hostile takeovers but has led to both companies trading at a discount to net asset value.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Southeast Asia
• Investments
• Hillhouse Capital Management
• China
• Joint Venture
• Hong Kong (China)