The AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards 2025

Event 17 November

The AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards 2025

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To find out who won, please stay tuned on our website. If you are interested in attending the 38th Annual AVCJ Private Equity Forum from 17-20 November in Hong Kong, please book your ticket now.


Exit of the Year – Small Cap
(Equity commitment on entry – below USD 50m)

Citykart (Investcorp)

Investcorp exited its minority stake in India-based retail apparel business Citykart at an enterprise valuation of INR 12.5bn (USD 141m) in May 2025, securing a 3.3x money multiple and a 23.2% IRR in US dollar terms. The buyers were A91 Partners and TPG NewQuest. Citykart was the first investment from Investcorp’s India consumer growth portfolio in 2019. It helped the company expand from 37 to 137 stores – despite an 18-month halt in operations because of COVID-19 – and post compound annual growth in revenue and EBITDA of more than 20%. Operational initiatives focused on strengthening backend infrastructure and the product portfolio.

CLO Virtual Fashion (Atinum Investment)

Atinum Investment fully exited its minority stake in CLO Virtual Fashion, a South Korea-based provider of 3D apparel design technology, through a sale to Epic Games in June 2025. This followed two partial exits in 2023 and 2024. The investment generated a 23x money multiple and a 35.6% IRR. Atinum committed USD 2.4m to CLO in 2014, becoming one of the earliest investors and the only one with board representation. It advised on growth strategies, recruitment, and a shift from license sales to subscriptions. It also helped identify M&A targets, leading a round in 2025 to secure capital for acquisitions.

FICT (Advantage Partners)

Advantage Partners exited Japanese printed circuit board manufacturer FICT – formerly Fujitsu Interconnect Technologies – to MBK Partners and US-based FormFactor in February 2025 at an enterprise valuation of around JPY 58.7bn (USD 388m). The investment generated an 18.6x money multiple, in US dollar terms, and an 88.2% IRR. After acquiring FICT from Fujitsu in 2020, Advantage established the company as a standalone business and repositioned it as a solutions provider rather than a components manufacturer. It also reviewed unprofitable products, altered pricing strategies, and pursued digital transformation in production planning and cost forecasting. This contributed to an 11x increase in EBITDA.

Micromine (Potentia Capital)

Potentia Capital exited its majority stake in Australian mining software provider Micromine to UK-based engineering multinational Weir Group at an enterprise valuation of AUD 1.31bn (USD 848m) in April 2025. It secured a 14.3x money multiple and a 70% IRR. Potentia invested in 2018 and helped transition the business model from upfront license sales to software-as-a-service subscriptions. It also overhauled sales and marketing, expanded into new geographies and product lines, and pursued bolt-on acquisitions. Sales increased more than threefold and EBITDA rose fivefold during the holding period. An earlier sale process was terminated in 2023 because of regulatory approval issues.

Questas (Allegro Funds)

Allegro Funds exited its 55% stake in Questas to Five V Capital in April 2025 at an enterprise valuation of AUD 367m (241m). The investment generated a 4.2x money multiple and a 31% IRR. Questas is Australia’s largest independent pure-play hydraulics company, providing essential aftermarket hydraulic services and distribution to over 3,000 customers across a network of 35 sites. Allegro invested in 2019 and worked alongside the founder to reposition the business as hydraulics-only and scale it through M&A. There were 10 bolt-on acquisitions. This contributed to value creation efforts that delivered more than threefold increases in revenue and EBITDA.


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