Auda to invest $300m in Asia in the next 3 years

Auda International LP, the alternatives arm of Germany’s Quandt family, intends to invest about $300 million in Asian private equity funds over the next three years, Lawrence Wong, Auda’s Hong Kong-based vice president, confirmed to PEI Asia.

Of the $300 million, the firm plans to allocate about 40 percent to China, 30 percent to India and the remaining 30 percent to Asia more broadly, subject to market conditions, Wong stated.

“We did not invest aggressively in 2006 and 2007 due to our concerns about high valuations. We believe valuations have fallen to a reasonable level after the financial crisis,” Wong said.

The firm began investing in Asia in 1997 and is currently committed to 23 funds in the region, he added.

The firm will focus on the healthcare, consumer products and green energy sectors, according to a comment made by Pak-Seng Lai, Auda’s managing director and head of Asia, to Indian daily Business Standard.

Auda operates independently and invests out of a global pool of fund of funds. It manages approximately $5 billion in committed capital, including $4.1 billion through its private equity division.

The firm was set up in 1989 to manage the private equity and hedge fund investments of the family of German industrialist Harald Quandt. In 1994, the firm began to manage funds for external investors, which include pension funds, endowments, foundations, financial institutions and wealthy families globally.

Headquartered in New York, Auda has offices in Bad Homburg in Germany, London and Hong Kong.