LPs
LP interview: Escala Partners
Escala Partners is one of a cluster of Australia-based wealth management platforms attracting more attention from private equity fundraisers. Getting on its approved list requires push as well as pull
BII backs Southeast Asia energy transition fund
British International Investment (BII), a UK development finance institution (DFI), has committed USD 15m to a Southeast Asia-focused energy transition infrastructure fund managed by Switzerland-based Susi Partners.
Japan Post Bank sees sharp increase in PE exposure
Japan Post Bank’s (JPB) private equity funds exposure increased 75% to JPY 5.6trn (USD 40.4bn) in the most recent financial year, which it said was largely driven by a change in accounting standards.
Global LPs steer clear of China - Mergermarket Forum
Geopolitical uncertainty is making global institutional investors increasingly risk-off on Asian private equity – and on China in particular – at a time when overallocation issues are already restraining the pace of commitments to the asset class.
QIA recruits Asia-focused portfolio manager from CPPIB
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has recruited Nicholas Low, previously an Asia-focused investment professional at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), to work on its global venture and growth funds platform.
NZ Super CEO resigns
Matt Whineray, who has served as CEO of New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZ Super) since mid-2018, will depart at the end of the year.
Fund focus: Aquilius targets Asia’s secondaries gap
Aquilius Investment Partners, a real estate secondaries investor, is tracking significant, opportunistic private equity deal flow in the current exit malaise. Diversification is the theme of the maiden fund
LP interview: Stafford Capital Partners
Founded in Australia, Stafford Capital Partners evolved into a global asset manager focused on timberland and infrastructure secondaries and PE co-investment. ESG is a rising client priority
L'Oreal commits to DSG's latest India, Southeast Asia fund
DSG Consumer Partners, an early-stage consumer sector investor in India and Southeast Asia, has signed up French cosmetics giant L’Oreal as an LP in its fourth fund.
Australia's Future Fund recruits ex-Carlyle dealmaker as PE head
Future Fund has recruited David Bluff, who stepped down last year as The Carlyle Group’s Australia and New Zealand buyout head, to lead its private equity investment programme.
Asia fundraising: To the grindstone
As macro uncertainties add red tape to fundraising processes and oblige some managers to operate on a deal-by-deal basis, the improvisational, survivalist nature of Asian private equity is on display
Collyer seeks $100m for Southeast Asia fund-of-funds
Collyer Capital, a Singapore-based investment firm co-founded by Eric Marchand, formerly of Unigestion and Campbell Lutyens, is looking to raise around USD 100m for a Southeast Asia-focused fund-of-funds.
Gulf gambit: Asia GPs court Middle East LPs
As the Middle East becomes a focal point for private equity fundraising globally, Asia-based managers hope that macro trends work in their favour. Being the right size and the right strategic fit also helps
OMERS appoints Asia Pacific head
Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) has appointed Ashish Goyal, who leads its capital markets activities in Asia, to the newly created role of executive vice president and head of Asia Pacific.
Asian institutional players target higher private markets allocations
Four in five institutional investors in Asia Pacific plan to increase their allocations to private markets in the next five years despite some facing near-term denominator effect challenges because of declines in public markets, according to a survey...
Partners Group hires Greater China fundraisers
Partners Group has added fundraising bandwidth in Greater China, recruiting Jin Wang as a managing director responsible for institutional coverage and making two private wealth hires.
GPs double down on value creation to maintain returns - AVCJ Forum
Private equity investors must find more operational levers to pull as LPs seek the same if not higher returns from the asset class despite more challenging economic conditions.
Australian HNWIs want more PE exposure, but obstacles remain - AVCJ Forum
Private equity may not be proven in the eyes of Australia’s high net worth investors, most of whom haven’t been exposed to the asset class across multiple cycles, but it earned wider recognition last year as public equities and fixed income struggled.
LP interview: North East Private Equity Asia
Seven years ago, Sam Robinson was invited to build a European family office’s Asia private equity portfolio from the ground up. He favoured familiar faces in the small to mid-cap space
BPEA EQT hits first close on mid-market fund, seals debut deal
BPEA EQT – which was formed through the merger of Baring Private Equity Asia and EQT – achieved a first close on its pan-regional mid-cap fund at the end of last year and the vehicle recently completed its debut investment in a Malaysia-headquartered...
Australian GPs look to retain spirit of entrepreneurship - AVCJ Forum
The combination of personalities and skillsets that characterised the first generation of Australian private equity is unlikely to be repeated, but GPs are still looking for ways to capture elements of entrepreneurialism even as the industry becomes more...
Adams Street establishes Australia presence
Adams Street Partners has opened an office in Sydney, which will be led by Shaun Thomas, an investor relations principal who joined the firm last November.
Australian LPs get tough on unlisted valuations - AVCJ Forum
Australian LPs are facing more scrutiny as to how they value unlisted assets, prompting several superannuation funds to establish independent valuation teams that operate separately from private equity investment professionals.
Xiaomi hits $1.3b second close on semiconductor fund
Xiaomi Private Equity Fund Management, a unit of Chinese smart phone maker Xiaomi, has achieved a second close of CNY 9bn (USD 1.29bn) on a semiconductor fund targeting CNY 10bn.