PPM Ventures grows Asian team

PPM Ventures, the private equity arm of Prudential, is expanding its Asian team with the appointment of Stewart Homler as senior representative in Tokyo. Homler joins from Credit Suisse First Boston’s Hong Kong office where he was a director responsible for the Asian private equity division. He has also worked with MetLife in New York and Hong Kong, where the firm established an Asian investment office in 1997.

Andrew Smith, managing director of PPM Ventures Asia, said: “Stewart brings with him proven experience of Asian private equity markets and his experience significantly strengthens our business in Japan. This appointment reflects our commitment to the Japanese market and the Asia Pacific region as a whole.”

Since it opened in Tokyo in 2000, PPM Ventures has committed almost $100 million in direct investments and private equity funds, including a participation in the buyout of Vantec, a transportation and logistics subsidiary of the Nissan Group in March 2001.