Henderson Raising $400M Fund

Henderson Private Capital, is raising its second Asian fund, Henderson Asia Pacific Equity Partners (HAPEP) II, a $400 million pan-Asia growth capital fund, PE Week has learned.

Senior Partner Sanjiv Kapur says that the firm has just begun marketing the new fund, which will invest in India, North Asia and ASEAN countries. The firm’s initial Asian fund, HAPEP I, raised $210 million in 2001; it has already realized 95% of the capital invested by the fund.

Kapur says that eight investments from the first fund have earned a 25% IRR on realized investments and that the substantial value remaining in the portfolio allows him to project a final return for the fund around current levels, making it one of Asia’s best performing funds to date.

Henderson is a 70-year-old global investment management firm, based in London, which manages more than $87 billion in assets. It was acquired in 1988 by AMP (ASX: AMP.AX) and subsequently de-merged as Henderson Group plc in 2003. Kapur joined the firm in 1999 when he was recruited from the International Finance Corp. to develop the fund-of-funds and direct private equity investing effort for the firm.

Henderson has eight professionals in Singapore, New Delhi and Hong Kong.

HAPEP I has invested in financial services, health care and manufacturing businesses in Asia. Kapur says that the second fund is “going to be more of the same.” However, the one difference for the new fund is likely to come from the size of its investments, projected to move from the $5 million to $30 million range in the first fund to $10 million to $60 million apiece for the second fund.

Also, Kapur says that having established a track record with the first fund, the firm is more likely to take on greater risks and individual investments in the second fund.

Kapur says he won’t rule out participating in a buyout if the opportunity is right. But, in general, Kapur says the firm is going to stick to its knitting, avoiding the logjam forming in buyout funds across Asia.