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Reuters – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), which manages $169 billion in public pension funds, may boost its private-equity investments by around 40 percent as slumping markets create some acquisition bargains.
Calpers’ board next week is scheduled to vote on a plan that would increase the fund’s target for corporate buyout and venture-capital investments to 14 percent from 10 percent.
Spokesman Clark McKinley said the fund’s $22.8 billion of such investments has jumped to 13 percent as the sinking value of stocks and other assets reduced the size of the overall fund.
Reuters China – Abu Dhabi Investment House, a Gulf Arab bank, is planning a $1.5 billion (824 million pounds) private equity fund to invest in real estate and manufacturing in China with a local partner, a senior executive said on Sunday.
An agreement to launch the fund will be signed within two months, said Rashad Janahi, ADIH’s managing director.
The Gulf firm is eyeing China at a time when a raft of tightening measures have chilled its real estate market, with sluggish transactions and falling prices in major cities. For a related story, double-click on.
TIANJIN, China (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi Investment House, a Gulf Arab bank, is planning a $1.5 billion (824 million pounds) private equity fund to invest in real estate and manufacturing in China with a local partner, a senior executive said on Sunday.
An agreement to launch the fund will be signed within two months, said Rashad Janahi, ADIH’s managing director.
The Gulf firm is eyeing China at a time when a raft of tightening measures have chilled its real estate market, with sluggish transactions and falling prices in major cities. For a related story, double-click on.
And China’s manufacturing sector, especially export-oriented and labour-intensive firms, are being hit hard by weakening demand from the United States as well as Europe.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Argo Group, an emerging markets investment manager, announced the launch of The Era Shopping Park Iasi. Projected to generate EUR 18 million ($25.7 million) in annual rental income the launch is funded by Argo’s private equity fund, the Argo Capital Partners Fund 1, together with a local joint venture partner, Omilos Group.
"From Argo’s perspective this has been an excellent investment," says Argo Capital Management chief investment officer Andreas Rialas. "Through our partnership with Omilos we acquired two excellent sites at a time when property and land prices were relatively low. Since then both projects are well advanced and demonstrating their potential to generate substantial returns."
The Park is the first of two planned retail parks to operate under the Era Shopping Park brand. The Iasi retail park will be the largest outside of Bucharest and the second largest in Romania.
Based in Romania’s second largest city, situated in the north-east of the country close to the Moldovan border. The Era Shopping Park Iasi will offer on completion more than 115,000 square metres of gross lettable area.
The second facility planned, the Era Shopping Park Oradea, is located in Oradea in the north-west of Romania, close to the Hungarian border. This smaller project with a gross lettable area of 65,000 square metres is expected to open in March next year. The Oradea site is projected to generate annual rental income of EUR 10.5 million.
"Economically, Romania continues to perform strongly. Following its EU accession, there has been a significant uplift in consumer spending and as demonstrated by tenant demand for Era, western European retailers are increasing their presence in the country," Rialas concluded.
The Argo Group has significant experience in property notably through the Argo Real Estate Opportunities Fund, a Guernsey-domiciled closed-ended investment company that invests in the commercial property markets of Central and Eastern Europe. The AIM-listed company is managed by Argo Capital Management Property, which has offices in London, Bucharest and Kiev.
The Argo Capital Partners Fund I was launched in August 2006 to focus on delivering private equity returns from different types of investments and situations in emerging markets. The fund, which was launched targeting a minimum internal rate of return of 40 per cent, has not yet exited any investments.
Its current portfolio includes Infarmasa, a generics pharmaceutical company in Peru, Nigerian commercial and retail bank Intercontinental Bank, Greek triple-play telecommunications Telecoms and Russian regional bank Probusinessbank as well as the Era Shopping Parks.
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Reuters Tokyo – Global buyout firm Advent International said it has raised 60 billion yen (317 million pounds) for its first private equity fund in Japan.
The fund, which opened its office in Tokyo in 2001, will target companies with enterprise values from 5 to 50 billion yen, but could be involved in larger deals through co-investment with other Advent funds, it said in a release.
Advent, with nine professional staff in Tokyo, said it will target four main sectors — health and life sciences, industrial, retail and consumer, and support services.
Private equity firms have spent $8.7 billion in buying Japanese companies since the beginning of this year, down 19 percent from the same period last year, Thomson Reuters data shows.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Baer Capital has announced the launch of their new fund that invests in Indian equities, distressed debt and derivatives, further propelling Dubai’s prominence in the hedge fund industry. The Beacon India Alpha Equity Fund is the latest fund aimed at capitalizing on India’s emerging markets.
‘We are extremely excited about the launch of the Beacon India Alpha Equity Fund which is a long short equity fund focused on listed Indian equities and managed by Baer Capital Partners International Ltd,” said Brij Singh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Baer Capital Partners. “The Beacon India Alpha Equity Fund is an integral part of our mission to create a ‘Best in Class’ alternative asset management platform focused on India.”
This is the second hedge fund for Baer, who also manages a $220 million private equity fund centering on opportunities in India. Norton Rose (Middle East) LLP has advised Baer on both the structure of the private equity fund and the hedge fund. Baer isn’t the only company captivated by the potential of India. Donald Trump Jr. just recently launched a fund focused on acquiring luxury properties in the subcontinent.
In addition, big players in the hedge fund arena like D.E. Shaw, Renaissance Technologies and Och-Ziff Capital Management have already established their presence in the Indian market.
Baer Capital Partners was established in 2006 and focuses on investment management, corporate finance and wealth advisory.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
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Bloomberg – Leopard Capital, which is setting up a $100 million private-equity fund to invest in Cambodia, said it’s competing to buy a stake in Acleda Bank Plc, the largest Cambodian bank.
“It’s the best-run bank, it’s clean and it has very good margins,” Thomas Hugger, executive director at Leopard Capital, said in an interview in Singapore today.
Leopard Capital is vying with other foreign investors that are seeking to invest in Cambodian companies after the economy grew at least 10 percent in the last four years. Acleda Bank, based in Phnom Penh, reported a 46 percent jump in net income to a record $9.7 million in 2007, according to its annual report.
“We have a lot of people sniffing around, ready to buy into us,” John Brinsden, vice chairman of Acleda Bank, said in an interview in Phnom Penh on June 18, declining to give details.
Acleda’s assets more than doubled to $473 million in 2007, from $223 million the previous year, according to its annual report. Loans almost doubled to $311 million, from $157 million over the same period. The bank had 204 offices across Cambodia at the end of last year.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Jacksonville, Florida-based Advantage Capital Equity Solutions is set to unveil its new asset based lending hedge fund at the end of this month according to an article published in FINalternatives.
The Advantage Capital Equity Fund II will locate nonperforming assets and purchase them at a discounted rate such as real estate taken over by banks following foreclosures. Since the subprime fallout hit states like Florida and California the hardest, the fund will start focusing on those geographical areas initially.
“We see a bottoming of the real estate market six to 18 months out but that doesn’t really affect us,” said Bob Parsons, Senior Vice President. “As far as California and Florida are concerned, I live in Florida and we’re starting to see some stabilization in pricing in Jacksonville. There’s no bottom in sight yet for high-rise condos in south Florida but we don’t lend on high rises.”
ABL funds are gaining popularity, mostly because they tend to thrive in the current market conditions. Florida and California have record numbers of foreclosures and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The foreclosures left an array of opportunity for investors to purchase the properties far below face value. Other asset based lending hedge funds focus on providing loans to developers who are in a pinch and cannot get quick financing from a bank. The hedge funds then tack on high interest rates and build up their pool of capital. If the borrower fails to pay back the debt, the property is then seized by the hedge fund.
The hedge fund has a $100 million target. It follows the launch of their private equity fund, Advantage Capital Equity Fund I, which was launched in May. The firm is seeking a seed investor for the p.e. fund, hoping to raise $74 million.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds! Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com
MSN India- ICICI Venture Fund Management is planning to list its $1.5 billion real estate fund on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
According to sources, the fund house will be providing the flexibility in the document to list the realty fund anytime during its life span.
ICICI Venture, the largest PE fund in India, currently manages about $2.5 billion in assets.
Its investment focus areas span across private equity, buyouts, real estate and mezzanine financing. The country’s largest private equity fund plans to raise $3 billion for two funds When contacted, an official spokesperson for ICICI Ventures offered no comments.
New York Sun- A majority of the City Council is backing a tax-the-rich plan that would require hedge fund and private equity fund partners to pay a city tax on income generated by investments, making it more likely to gain traction in Albany.
Assemblyman Micah Kellner, who represents the Upper East Side, recently introduced a bill that would change the city’s tax law so it would apply to hedge fund and private equity managers.
Twenty-six of the council’s 51 members signed a letter in support of the tax proposal, which is being touted as a way to raise more than $200 million a year. As the council and Mayor Bloomberg near a July 1 budget deadline, members are searching for new ways to generate revenue for the city to protect favored programs and classrooms from anticipated budget cuts.
West Palm Beach (Hedge Co.Net)- The Blackstone Group announced that Aaron Nieman will be launching Blackstone Altius Advisors, a new event-driven strategy focusing on opportunities in the Asia Pacific region. A global, highly experienced investment team will be headquartered in Hong Kong, with additional professionals based in Tokyo, Mumbai, and New York.
Nieman joined Blackstone from S.A.C. Capital Management, where he was a Managing Director in the Canvas Capital Management division.
"As Blackstone continues to aggressively seek opportunities within Asia, Aaron and his team will provide additional investment capability that will bolster our presence in the region." said Antony Leung, Chairman of Blackstone Greater China.
"Blackstone has a superior global alternative investment platform. It also employs some of the best professionals in the industry. The synergies that exist within Blackstone’s various businesses will provide us with a significant advantage investing in the Asia Pacific markets," said Aaron Nieman, Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Altius Advisors.
In addition to Blackstone Altius Advisors, Blackstone’s other hedge funds in Asia include its corporate private equity fund (Blackstone Capital Partners), its real estate opportunity fund (Blackstone Real Estate Partners), its fund of hedge funds business and two closed-end mutual funds (The India Fund and The Asia Tigers Fund).
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