Firm of the Year – Large Cap
(AUM – USD 20bn and above)

Advent International

Advent International has marked its entry to Australia and return to Japan over the past 12 months with investments led by new local teams. The sponsor acquired Automic, an Australia-based financial services technology business, for a reported USD 471m and followed up the agreed purchase of New Zealand Clinical Research Group at a USD 710m valuation. In Japan, it bought home care services provider Japan Wellbeing for a reported USD 1.23bn. Meanwhile, Advent remained active in India, exiting Aditya Birla Capital and then investing in the company’s housing finance unit, as well as backing Yatharth Hospitals and Iscon Balaji Foods.

Bain Capital

A Bain Capital-led consortium delivered one of Asia’s largest-ever PE exits, selling JPY 5.4trn (USD 33.5bn) of shares in Japan-based Kioxia between November 2025 and June 2026. Bain alone is said to have received around USD 15bn from the investment to date – the position has yet to be fully exited. There were also significant exits from WinTriX DC Group’s China data centre business and Australia’s Estia Health, while new buyouts were announced across Japan, Australia and South Korea. Bain closed its sixth Asian fund in May 2026 on USD 10.5bn, including USD 1.4bn in internal commitments. It was substantially oversubscribed.

Blackstone

Blackstone closed its third Asian fund in June 2026 at the hard cap of USD 13.1bn, 31% above target and more than twice the amount raised for Fund II. Over the past 12 months, it has committed over USD 7bn across 13 transactions, including a USD 3.5bn take-private of TechnoPro, its largest investment in Japan. Juno and Futronic were added to the portfolio in South Korea, while in India Blackstone backed Federal Bank and Neysa, acquired Ace Insurance Brokers, and made its first-ever sports investment in Royal Challengers Bengaluru. There were also exits from Interplex Datacom, SP.Links, and Ayumi Pharmaceutical.

EQT

EQT closed the largest pool of PE capital ever raised for Asia in April 2026, securing USD 15.6bn for its ninth fund. Over 75 new LPs participated while 80% of investors in Fund VIII re-upped, increasing their commitment size by an average of 13%. Over the last 12 months, there have been full or partial exits from the likes of Telus Digital, World Freight Company, Quantios, Sagility, and Benesse. The sponsor has also completed eight buyouts region wide, ranging from USD 2.6bn-plus acquisitions of Fujitec and Douzone Bizon under the large-cap strategy to PropertyMe and Mamezo for the mid-market fund.

KKR

KKR has completed two landmark exits in early 2026, selling its remaining shares in Japan’s Kokusai Electric and South Korea-based HD Hyundai Marine Solution to deliver overall returns of 7.5x and 20x, respectively. Total proceeds from Kokusai are around USD 5.5bn. Private equity monetisation in Asia over the past 12 months amounts to USD 7.3bn, with India-based JB Pharma, Lenskart and Avendus Capital also exited. Meanwhile, USD 8.5bn has been put to work in new investments. These ranged from take-privates of Topcon and Taiyo Holding to acquisitions of Medicover India and Ci Flavors to a strategic investment in Samsung SDS.