Private Equity News & Analysis

Report: RRJ raises $3.5bn Asia fund

The firm led by the Ong brothers plans to make a final close on its second private equity vehicle in March, expected to be one of the largest-ever raised for the region.

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RRJ Capital has raised $3.5 billion for its latest Asia-Pacific fund, according to media reports. The fund is expected to be finalised in March and will likely be one of the largest raised for private equity in the region.

RRJ did not respond to requests for comment. 

Last year, a source close to the firm told Private Equity International that the fund was targeting $4 billion, with a hard cap of $5 billion. 

It made its first close on $2.5 billion in September 2012, having received “the biggest ever LP investment globally into a single fund” from anchor investor Temasek, the source explained. 

The vehicle has a similar strategy to its predecessor, focusing on China and Southeast Asia, but has a mandate to invest in more buyout opportunities. It will do deals between $50 million and $3 billion, PEI reported earlier. 

In late January, media reports also said that RRJ Capital had bought a 75 percent stake in Hong Kong-based children’s wear retailer Kingkow, following a trend of private equity firms investing in China’s kidwear sector. Shanghai-based Lunar Capital Management recently took a 51 percent stake in a joint venture that will expand Italian luxury childrenswear maker I Pinco Pallino’s line of products to China and East Asia.

RRJ Capital was formed in 2011 after co-founder and co-chairman Richard Ong, formerly head of Asia investment banking at Goldman Sachs, spun out of his private equity firm Hopu Investment Management. The Hong Kong-based firm is run by the Ong brothers and had $5.8 billion in assets under management as of 1 February 2013, according to PEI's data division.