Firms & Funds

Chinese buyout shop A-CAPITAL has gotten the go-ahead from the Beijing municipal government to set up what it says is China’s first yuan-denominated outbound private equity fund, Reuters reported. The new fund will jointly invest with Chinese groups in European companies with an emphasis on technology, major brands, and carving out new markets, Reuters wrote. The firm, based in Beijing, already has a euro-denominated fund focused on China-Europe investments. The firm hopes to have a total of 3 billion yuan ($456 million) to invest.

Advent plans to close its Tokyo office by March 31, according to Reuters. Advent wound up the ¥60 billion ($723.7 million) fund in December, releasing investors from their commitments to back deals.

BC Partners has raised €4 billion ($5.6 billion) toward its latest fund, Reuters reported. The firm told its investors that it had held a “first close” of the ninth fund, Reuters said. London-based BC Partners was formed in 1986.

In the wake of a pay-to-play scandal, CalPERS endorsed bills sponsored by California State Controller John Chiang that would prohibit board members and certain officers from accepting employment with business partners after leaving the public pension fund, and reduce gift limits to members of the board and consultants. This news follows a scathing report CalPERS issued that alleged that former officials had accepted bribes.

The Carlyle Group may raise between €1.5 billion and €2 billion ($2.1 billion to $2.8 billion) for its fourth European real estate fund, Reuters reported. The firm still has about €600 million remaining in the Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners III fund, Reuters said, adding that it was expected to be fully invested this year.

The Carlyle Group will begin investing in Peruvian companies as part of a partnership with the country’s largest financial holding company, Credicorp Ltd, Reuters reported. The partnership will focus on growth capital and buyouts in sectors including consumer and retail, health care, education and logistics, Reuters said.

CITIC Capital Partners has closed its second Japan buyout fund with ¥10 billion ($220 million), Reuters reported. The size of the fund is only 60 percent of what the firm originally targeted. CITIC Capital is owned by China Investment Corp., China’s sovereign wealth fund, CITIC International Financial Holdings Ltd and CITIC Pacific Ltd, Reuters said.

Expanding its presence in India, Goldman Sachs plans to buy Benchmark Asset Management Co., a firm with about $700 million in assets under management, Reuters reported. Terms of the deal were not released, though local media reported that Goldman will pay roughly $29 million. Goldman has invested about $2 billion in private equity in India since 2007, including a stake in insurer and hospital operator Max India Ltd., Reuters wrote.

Africa-focused firm Kingdom Zephyr will invest roughly $300 million across the continent, taking minority stakes in at least six companies in the next three years, Reuters reported. Kingdom Zephyr is currently investing $400 million that it raised in a 2008 fund, Reuters said.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts each received about $19.5 million in carried interest during the year, Reuters reported, citing a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Carried interest is typically the 20 percent that buyout executives take from the profit made on their funds, after compensating their investors.

India’s Kotak Mahindra Group aims to raise $300 million in local and international private equity funds for investments across infrastructure programs, Reuters reported. Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management have signed on as investors in the fund, contributing up to 22.5 percent of the capital. India has said it needs to double infrastructure spending to $1 trillion over the next five years, Reuters said.

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners said it has closed a small business investment company fund at $225 million. The pool, Levine Leichtman Capital Partners SBIC Fund LP, will invest in U.S. businesses with revenues of up to $50 million primarily in the consumer products, light manufacturing and services sectors.

Italian private equity firm Synergo SGR has held a first close of its second fund, Sinergia II, the firm said. The fund was launched in mid-2010 with a target of €350 million ($486 million). The exact amount of money raised to date was not released. Investors include pension funds, insurance companies and financial institutions, the Milan-based firm said. Synergo has roughly €450 million under management across its first and second funds.