Australia's Challenger Funds acquires stake in Proterra Asia
Challenger Funds Management, one of the largest active asset managers in Australia, has acquired a stake in Singapore-based PE firm Proterra Investment Partners Asia from Australia’s Pacific Current Group.
The transaction is worth about USD 8.2m. Australia-listed Pacific Current – which holds stakes in several, mostly real estate-focused GPs – held 16% of Proterra Asia as of October 2022.
Proterra is a US-headquartered food and agribusiness investor that spun out from Cargill in 2016. The Asia team has deployed more than USD 1bn in the region via three funds since 2010 and had USD 1.6bn of assets under its food strategy as of end-2021. It operates out of Shanghai as well as Singapore.
Proterra Asia closed its latest vehicle, Food Fund 3, last November with about USD 200m in commitments. This is the first fund raised by Proterra's Asia team since it was established as a stand-alone fund manager registered in Singapore. Additional capital is being raised for other vehicles, according to a source close to the situation.
Proterra Asia’s second fund closed on USD 700m in 2015. As of the launch of Fund III, it had deployed USD 598m and claimed a portfolio value of about USD 1.1bn, as well as a gross IRR of 18.8%. This does not include co-investment vehicles that Proterra manages for LPs.
Pacific Current has retained its economic interests specific to Proterra’s first two food funds but has divested its economic interest in Food Fund 3 as well as future investment strategies sponsored by Proterra Asia.
In its latest annual report, Pacific Current noted that it was entitled to 8% of Proterra Asia’s gross management revenues and 16% of the liquidation proceeds in the event of a sale.
“We appreciate the business Proterra Asia helped develop for Proterra since Pacific Current’s initial investment,” Pacific Current CEO Paul Greenwood said in a statement. “We recognise that Challenger is uniquely situated to help grow Proterra Asia’s business and we wish them well in the new partnership.”
Challenger Funds is a unit of Australia-listed Challenger that encompasses its parent company’s multi-affiliate platform, Fidante and Challenger Investment Management. Fidante covers fixed income and real estate. Challenger had AUD 99m in assets under management as of December.
More on Australasia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.