Private equity (PE) firm Advent International on Thursday said that it has completed raising funds for its ninth global private equity fund, GPE IX, with commitments of $17.5 billion, surpassing the earlier target of $16 billion.
The fundraising was achieved in six months, the firm said. Advent’s previous global fund, GPE VIII, raised $13 billion in 2016.
“Advent’s large, globally integrated team gives us a powerful advantage in identifying and executing attractive investment opportunities around the world,” said James Brocklebank, one of the managing partners at Advent in London.
“We are particularly well-positioned to pursue complex situations, such as corporate carve-outs, where we can apply our sector and operating expertise to unlock value in these dynamic businesses,” he said.
The funds would be deployed primarily in Europe and North America and selectively in Asia and Latin America for buyouts, corporate carve-outs, public-to-private and growth equity transactions. The PE firm focuses its investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services, healthcare, industrial, retail, consumer and leisure, and technology, media and telecom.
So far, the fund has invested $44 billion in more than 345 private equity transactions in 41 countries. The firm’s current portfolio companies generated $50 billion in annual revenue and employed more than 290,000 people as of their latest year end.
Over the past five years, Advent has invested in Indian firms such as wealth manager ASK Investment Managers, plastic packaging firm Manjushree Technopack, innerwear brand Dixcy Textiles, and consumer goods company Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals.
“The successful fundraising of GPE IX marks a significant milestone for Advent and increases the amount of capital that may be deployed in India,” said Shweta Jalan, managing director at Advent in Mumbai.
Advent has been active in India since 2007 and has invested nearly $1 billion in the country, she said.
Private equity investments in India touched $35 billion in 2018, a record high, according to estimates by consulting and auditing firm EY, indicating increased flow of private equity capital to India, especially from foreign fund managers such as Advent.
While Advent’s latest fund is a globally focused, many of its peers have recently raised capital for their Asia dedicated private equity funds, which invest largely in China and India.
In February, TPG Capital announced closure of its seventh Asia-focused fund with commitments of over $4.6 billion to pursue investments in China and India, followed by South-East Asia.
The Carlyle Group, which has been investing in India since 1998, announced the final close of its fifth Asia buyout fund Carlyle Asia Partners V (CAP V) at $6.55 billion last year.
In June 2018, Blackstone Group LP also said it had completed fundraising for two of its Asian funds at $9.4 billion. The private equity firm had closed its first Asia private equity fund at about $2.3 billion, while it separately raised $7.1 billion for its second regional “opportunistic” real estate fund.
In November, Mint reported that global investment private equity firm KKR and Co. was also gearing up to raise its maiden Asia-focused infrastructure fund.
Source: Mint