Exit of the Year – IPO

Aadhar Housing Finance (Blackstone)

Aadhar Housing Finance, an Indian affordable housing finance specialist acquired by Blackstone in 2019, raised INR 30bn (USD 359.1m) through a domestic IPO in May 2024. The company sold 95.2m shares at INR 315 apiece. As of September 27, it was up 55% on the IPO price with a market capitalisation INR 209.8bn. Blackstone realised INR 20bn through the offering, reducing its holding to 76.5%. During its ownership period, the PE firm has helped Aadhar Housing Finance win lender confidence and secure capital infusions, strengthen its leadership team, and implement a state-of-the-art banking software platform, leading to improved financial performance.

Kokusai Electric (KKR)

Kokusai Electric was one part of Hitachi Kokusai Electric, which KKR acquired in 2017 for an enterprise value of JPY 322bn (then USD 2.9bn). The company, which provides components used in semiconductor manufacturing, raised JPY 108.3bn through a Tokyo Stock Exchange IPO in October 2023 – Japan’s largest-ever PE-backed offering. It sold 58.8m shares for JPY 1,840 apiece. As of September 27, it was up 85% on the IPO price with a market capitalisation of JPY 803bn. KKR made two partial exits prior to the listing and took all the listing proceeds. Another partial exit in July 2024 generated JPY 179.4bn.

QuantumPharm (5Y Capital, Artisan Partners Asset Management, CICC Capital, CITIC Venture Capital, China Renaissance, Decent Capital, Ephiphron Capital, Fangyuan Capital, Frees Fund, HongShan)

QuantumPharm, the holding company for China-based artificial intelligence-enabled drug development platform XtalPi, raised HKD 989.3m (USD 126.6m) through a Hong Kong IPO in June 2024. The company sold 187.4m shares for HKD 5.28 apiece. As of September 27, it was up 142% on the IPO price with a market capitalisation of HKD 43.7bn. The listing represented a liquidity event for numerous financial investors. XtalPi provides accurate predictions regarding the physiochemical and pharmaceutical properties of small-molecule drugs, offering insights into how treatments are likely to evolve. This enables drug developers to save time and cost, and tailor their product pipelines.

Tata Technologies (Tata Capital Growth Fund)

Tata Technologies (TTL), an India-based product engineering specialist, raised INR 30.4bn (USD 363.5m) through a domestic IPO in November 2023. The company sold 60.8m shares for INR 500 apiece. As of September 27, it was up 124% on the IPO price with a market capitalisation of INR 454.7bn. Tata Capital Growth Fund, which invested USD 31.8m in TTL, realised INR 7.3bn through the IPO, reducing its holding from 10.9% to 7.3%. A further realisation of INR 10bn happened in August 2024. The manager claims to have realised USD 517.6m in total with a 16.3x money multiple and a 27% IRR.

TBO Tek (Affirma Capital)

TBO Tek, an India-based travel agent software provider, raised INR 15.5bn (USD 185.3m) through a domestic IPO in May 2024. The company sold 16.8m shares at INR 920 apiece. As of September 27, it was up 100% on the IPO price with a market capitalisation of INR 200.5bn. Affirma Capital, which acquired 49% of TBO Tek from Naspers for INR 3bn, made two partial exits prior to the IPO and realised a further INR 6.7bn through the listing at 11.1x the entry valuation. As of June 2024, the overall investment had generated a 16.9x money multiple and a 64.6% IRR.