Firm of the Year – Large Cap (AUM - $7.5 billion and above)
Bain Capital
Bain Capital has remained active across its core Asian markets: investing in Avistone and VXI Global Solutions in China; picking up Japan Wind Development through a tender process, leading a Series C for Linc’well, and agreeing a carve-out of Evident in Japan; buying Classys in Korea; and signing deals for IIFL Wealth and CitiusTech in India. Meanwhile, Only About Children (Australia), Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Resorts & Hotels (Japan), and Hugel (Korea) were all exited. Bain also closed its second – and Asia’s largest – special situations fund with USD 2bn in commitments and codified its approach to ESG in the region.
Baring Private Equity Asia
It is difficult to look past Baring Private Equity Asia’s (BPEA) planned merger with EQT, a landmark transaction for the industry in Asia and a rare large-scale (USD 7.5bn) monetisation of a manager. However, BPEA also closed its eighth Asia fund on USD 11.2bn – the second-largest pan-regional vehicle ever raised – and secured a USD 3.2bn sustainability-linked credit facility. There were sizeable exits from Hexaware Technology, HCP Packaging, and Interplex, the latter coming on the back of a significant turnaround effort. As for new investments, Tricor Group was acquired from Permira and Ginko International was obtained through a hard-to-handle Taiwan take-private.
The Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group can point to significant acts across fundraising, investment, and exits in the past 12 months. The firm closed its second Asia fund at the hard cap of USD 6.4bn, a nearly threefold increase on the previous vintage. New investments came in the form of Interplex, VFS Global, and Nucleus Network, but the standout deal was Crown Resorts – notable not only for the USD 8.1bn price tag, but also for Blackstone’s willingness to address regulatory and structural complexity and then embark on a turnaround. Full exits included Partners Life and La Trobe Financial, and there was a sizeable partial exit from Sona Comstar.
CVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners has deployed more than USD 2bn across eight investments and four add-on acquisitions over the past 12 months. The largest transaction was a founder-led take-private of Razer, a Hong Kong-listed gaming hardware and software provider with a global footprint, at a valuation of USD 3.17bn. Other deals included Malaysia-based Affin Hwang Asset Management and Japan-based tuition business Try Group. CVC secured a significant exit with the sale of Malaysia’s Munchy Food Industries for USD 454m – having delivered improvement in commercial performance and ESG – and the firm launched its sixth Asia fund with a target of USD 6bn.
KKR
KKR has deployed approximately USD 3.3bn across a dozen PE investments in the past year, including Probe CX in Australia, Yayoi in Japan, Livspace in Singapore, Moody and Ruichen Pet Veterinary in China, Shriram General Insurance in India, and GrowSari in the Philippines. A USD 5.8bn tender offer for Japan’s Hitachi Transport System was signed but has yet to close. There were full exits from Vietnam’s Masan MeatLife and India’s Max Healthcare in India, and a partial exit from Australia’s GreenCollar. Meanwhile, PHC Holdings, Yuehai, and GoTo went public in Japan, China, and Indonesia, and PropertyGuru completed a SPAC merger.