H&Q Korea completes divestment of NPS-sponsored Fund I
H&Q Korea has completed the full divestment of its first domestic Korean fund, the H&Q NPS Private Equity Fund I (PEF I), which closed in October 2005 at KRW300 billion ($293 million), with the sale of its last portfolio company, KSNET, a leading payments processor, to a strategic buyer.
PEF I, anchored by the National Pension Service (NPS) of Korea, generated a gross IRR for H&Q Korea and its LPs of 30% for a 2.1x return on invested capital. A so-called "first generation domestic fund," launched after the passage of pro-private equity legislation in Korea in 2004, and supported by four other blue-chip domestic institutions, the fund did its first investment in 2006, and divested all its assets within four years. Other significant investments from the fund included auto parts company Mando, which listed on the Korea Stock Exchange in May 2010 - PEF exited completely from this investment in August 2010, after the expiry of a lockup, with a 35% IRR or return multiple of 2x.
Active since 1998, H&Q Korea was an early investor in the domestic PE market, and is currently investing from H&Q PEF II, its second domestic fund, raised in 2008.
More on North Asia
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.