Firm of the Year – Large Cap
(AUM - $7.5 billion and above)
Advent International
Advent International closed its latest global fund at the hard cap of USD 25bn in May 2022 and pledged to expand its activity in China. The firm has continued to invest in China over the past 12 months, even as other global players have withdrawn. Acquisitions include restaurant chain Wagas Group and pest control business LBS Group. India also remains firmly on the agenda as demonstrated by Advent joining a USD 1.1bn investment in Yes Bank, acquiring a majority interest in Suven Pharmaceuticals for USD 761m, and committing USD 100m to KreditBee. Exits include Singapore-based engineering services player Quest Global.
Bain Capital
Bain Capital led two of the three largest buyouts to close in Asia over the past 12 months: Proterial and Evident Corporation. In biofuels business EcoCeres, it was also responsible for arguably one of the region’s more cutting-edge control deals. Altogether, Bain put USD 4.2bn to work in private equity and USD 1.5bn in the special situations space. Exit proceeds during the period amounted to USD 3.7bn, including an innovative structure for Works Human Intelligence that saw 50% sold to GIC and 50% transferred to another Bain fund. The firm also reached a first close on its fifth pan-regional fund.
BPEA EQT
BPEA EQT pushed ahead with deployment of its eighth pan-regional fund, signing or completing five new investments with a combined enterprise value of around USD 7bn in the 12 months ended September 2023. Closed transactions included Tricor, IMG Academy, HDFC Credila, and Sagility (formerly Hinduja Global Solutions). Tricor went to acquire Vistra, creating a global leader in corporate services and facilitating an exit for BPEA EQT’s fifth and sixth funds. Overall realisations amounted to USD 4.7bn from 16 liquidity events involving 12 companies. BPEA EQT also reached a first close of around USD 400m on its first Asia mid-market fund.
The Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group confirmed the status of Sona Comstar as one of India’s most ambitious and successful large cap deals in recent years by completing its exit from the automotive industry supplier. Proceeds from the investment – predicated on the merger of complementary businesses – exceed USD 1.7bn. Another sizeable Indian exit came with sale of IBS Software, while Blackstone put more capital to work in the country through the acquisition of IT services provider R Systems. Other significant investments included a USD 535m buyout of International Gemological Institute, which saw Blackstone sign and close the deal on the same day.
TPG
TPG is one of few large-cap managers to gain traction on a pan-Asian fundraise: Fund VIII reached a first close of USD 3.4bn in November 2022 against an overall target of USD 6bn. Since then, USD 1.7bn has been deployed across five investments, including iNova Pharmaceuticals, InvoCare, Manipal Health Enterprises, Poonawalla Housing Finance, and Samhwa. Manipal also represents a landmark exit. TPG sold its Fund VI holding in the company, accounting for over half of a stake acquired by Temasek Holdings for USD 1.99bn, and then re-invested through Fund VIII. Several other realisations came through private rounds and recaps.