Asia Heritage seals partnership with Italy's Obsidian Capital
Asia Heritage, an asset management business launched by Chris Lerner, formerly of Eaton Partners and MSA Capital, is supporting Obsidian Capital as the Italian firm expands into Asia.
The agreement – which coincides with Obsidian opening an affiliate office in Asia – is much like the one announced three months ago by Asia Heritage and US-based GP stakes investor Bonaccord Capital Partners. Under that arrangement, Lerner leads Asian activity for Bonaccord, sourcing new deal flow and helping existing portfolio managers with business development in the region.
Obsidian has more than USD 850m in assets under management. It offers a diverse range of investment strategies and bespoke solutions for Italian institutional and high net worth investors seeking access to private market funds, co-investments, and secondaries. Asia Heritage will work on research, sourcing, and due diligence across all investment mandates with an allocation to the region.
“Our partnership with Asia Heritage provides us with a strategic vantage point that enables us to be close to the markets and their participants, and a hard-to-replicate edge in sourcing and manager selection predicated on over two decades of local relationships and a distinct information advantage,” said Giacomo Stratta, founder and CEO of Obsidian.
He added that Asia already represents approximately one-third of Obsidian’s global private equity strategies. The firm is preparing to launch its second Obsidian Asian Opportunity Fund.
Asia Heritage sits alongside placement agent Thrive Alternatives and fund management software provider Asense Technologies beneath an umbrella partnership known as Verse Holdings. This was established by Lerner and several ex-colleagues from Eaton. Gianluca D’Angelo, formerly head of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Eaton and now CEO of Thrive, serves as group president.
Asia Heritage ultimately wants to raise an Asian fund-of-funds. An anchor LP is in place and deployment was expected to start in the second half of 2023. Cheque sizes will be in the USD 5m-USD 10m range.
Lerner worked for Eaton for nine years through 2020, eventually becoming a partner and head of Asia Pacific for the placement agent. He then joined MSA as a managing partner, overseeing the Chinese GP’s fundraising and institutional operations and designing strategic initiatives.
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