NewQuest, GIC back Everbridge's South Asia continuation fund

NewQuest and GIC made commitments of roughly equal size to the fund, which comprises two assets: Mankind Pharma, an Indian pharmaceutical formulations supplier that listed last month after the deal closed; and InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ), a subsidiary of India’s InterGlobe Enterprises that provides electronic ticketing services, according to two sources close to the situation.

Everbridge was established in 2018 by Leonard Kim, an Asia-focused managing partner at Capital Group, in anticipation of a regional spinout. Kim is still listed as a managing partner at Capital Group, where he has worked since 1997.

By the mid-2010s, Capital Group’s Asia portfolio included China biotech player Innovent Biologics, Philippines media business ABS-CBN China hospital operator Jinxin Maternity, Mankind, ITQ, and two of the region’s preeminent ride-hailing platforms, Southeast Asia’s Gojek and China’s Didi Chuxing.

Several of these assets, including Gojek and Didi, were primed for inclusion in the continuation fund, which was also expected to have an allocation for new investments, sources said at the time.

However, with the progress well-progressed, Didi listed in New York in mid-2021 even as regulators called for patience. Two days after its debut, the company was accused of violating rules on data collection and regulators blocked new user registrations and downloads, pending an investigation. Unable to accurately value a key asset, investors pulled their support for the continuation fund.

Didi’s share price never recovered and it was delisted last year. Gojek merged with Indonesian e-commerce platform and – renamed GoTo and positioned as a super app – it completed a domestic IPO in 2022. They are two of seven current Asian portfolio companies referenced on Capital Group’s website.

Given recent investor wariness of China, it was decided the revived secondary deal should be relatively concentrated and South Asia-focused, one of the sources added.

Mankind raised INR 43.3bn through its IPO and continues to trade at a premium to the offering price – with a market capitalization of around INR 598bn – despite a recent Income Tax Department raid on its premises. Capital Group, which acquired an 11% stake in Mankind for USD 180m in 2015, generated INR 21.6bn through a partial exit and retains a small minority position.

Capital Group paid USD 200m for a 37% interest in ITQ in 2017, taking out several existing investors. ITQ is the exclusive South Asian franchisee of Travelport, one of three major global distribution system (GDS) players that enable ticketing and transactions between the likes of airlines, hotels, and travel agents. It is connected to nearly 22,000 agency terminals and serves 13,000 customers across 600 cities.

NewQuest declined to comment. Everbridge didn’t respond to a request for comment. Evercore, which advised on the deal, also declined to comment.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Secondaries
• Healthcare
• Technology
• Asia
• India
• NewQuest Capital Partners
• GIC Private
• Secondaries
• Everbridge Partners