Partners Group closes on €1.5bn hard cap

Partners Group, the Swiss-headquartered asset manager, has closed its third direct fund on its hard cap of €1.5 billion, according to a statement.

The 2012 vintage fund is Partners Group’s largest direct investment vehicle ever and will invest in opportunities globally. Partners Group declined to disclose details of the first close or original target amount.

The fund has a 40 percent allocation to “Asia and rest of world”, the majority of which is likely to be deployed in the Asia Pacific region, according to the firm.

So far, two of the deals done from Fund III have been in Asia Pacific.

In May 2013, the firm invested $275 million in CSS Corp, an Indian IT services business, backing management TG Ramesh and Sanjay Chakravarty to take the 70 percent stake owned by SAIF Partners, Goldman Sachs and Sierra Ventures, with Partners Group ultimately taking an 80 percent interest in the business, Private Equity International reported earlier.

A year earlier, Partners Group had invested an undisclosed amount in Hong Kong-based Trimco, previously owned by private equity firm Navis Capital Partners. Partners Group has been an LP in Navis’ pan-regional funds.

“We believe pricing in Asia has become much more attractive relative to any other time in the last 6-7 years,” a spokeswoman for the firm told Private Equity International.  

“We are very much focused on the mid-market, as we believe this is where there is the most opportunity to add value globally; we also believe this is where there is the biggest gap in the market in Asia between available investment opportunity and available skillset on the part of GPs,” she added.

China and India remain the key markets for Partners Group in Asia, while globally the fund focuses on a range of mid-market sectors.

The vehicle is already one-third invested and has screened 1,600 companies, 10 of which have converted into deals, according to the firm.

Stephan Schäli, Partner and head of private equity, said in the statement, “Large-cap assets continue to trade at high EV/EBITDA multiples due to their perceived safety in the current economic environment, leaving the buyer little scope to achieve attractive returns. In contrast, the small to mid-cap space globally continues to offer great potential for value creation.”