Baring Private Equity Asia

Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) was an Asian investment firm headquartered in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1997 as an affiliate of Barings Bank before becoming an independent firm in 2000.

Baring Private Equity Asia

Company type	Private
Industry	Investment management
Founded	1997; 28 years ago (1997)
Founder	Jean Salata
Defunct	October 2022; 2 years ago (2022-10)
Fate	Acquired by EQT AB
Headquarters	Two IFC, Central, Hong Kong
Products	Private equity Real estate Private credit
Website	www.bpeasia.com

In 2022, it was acquired by EQT AB to act as its Asian investment platform. It was subsequently renamed to BPEA EQT and then EQT Private Capital Asia.

History

BPEA was founded in 1997^[1] as a subsidiary of Baring Private Equity Partners which was an affiliate of Barings Bank.^[2] In addition to BPEA, the affiliates of Baring Private Equity Partners include Baring Vostok Capital Partners, Baring Private Equity Partners India and GP Investments.^[3]

Jean Salata and two other senior colleagues from the investment arm of AIG were set to run it with the ING Group providing $300 million in seed money. However, the two colleagues pulled out and ING downsized its commitment to $25 million due to the collapse or Barings Bank and the Asian financial crisis. However, despite the difficult circumstances, Salata recruited a team and deployed capital into NetEase and Mphasis. These successful investments allowed BPEA to raise $300 million for its debut fund in 1999.^[4]

In 2000, Salata led a management buyout of BPEA leading it to be established as an independent Firm. The firm would keep the Barings brand name and the ING relationship in exchange for a share of the profits for a limited period.^[4][5]

In 2016, Affiliated Managers Group acquired a 15% minority stake in BPEA.^[6][7]

In 2017, BPEA launched its Credit investment unit in India after acquiring the Credit unit of Religare Global Asset Management.^[8]

In March 2022, EQT AB acquired BPEA for $7.5 billion.^[9] On October, the acquisition was complete and the firm was renamed to BPEA EQT.^[10]

In January 2024, the firm was rebranded to EQT Private Capital Asia.^[11]

Business overview

BPEA mainly focused on the Asia Pacific Region. It had three investment strategies which are:^[12]

• Private Equity
• Real Estate
• Credit (operates as BPEA Credit that focuses on India)

Funds

Private Equity

Fund[13]	Vintage Year	Committed Capital ($m)
Baring Asia Private Equity Fund	1999	USD 305
Baring Asia Private Equity Fund II	2002	USD 257
Baring Asia Private Equity Fund III	2005	USD 490
Baring Asia Private Equity Fund IV	2008	USD 1,515
Baring Asia Private Equity Fund V	2011	USD 2,460
Baring Asia Private Equity Fund VI	2015	USD 3,980
Baring Asia Private Equity Fund VII	2020	USD 6,500
Baring Asia Private Equity Fund VIII[14]	2022	USD 11,200

Real Estate

Fund[13]	Vintage Year	Committed Capital ($m)
Baring Asia Real Estate Fund	2015	USD 365
Baring Asia Real Estate Fund II	2018	USD 1,000

Credit

Fund	Vintage Year	Committed Capital ($m)
BPEA Credit – India Fund I	2017	USD 90
BPEA Credit – India Fund II	2019	USD 140
BPEA Credit – India Fund III	2022	USD 475[15]

Transactions

• In 2011, BPEA sold its holding in Hsu Fu Chi to Nestlé in a $1.7 billion deal.^[16]
• In 2012, BPEA successfully exited Courts Asia by listing it on the Singapore Stock Exchange.^[17][18]
• In 2015, BPEA acquired a majority stake in Vistra from IK Investment Partners.^[19]
• In 2016, BPEA and Onex Corporation acquired the Intellectual Property & Science business of Thomson Reuters for $3.55 billion.^[20]
• In 2017, Post Holdings acquired Weetabix Limited, UK based manufacturer of the Weetabix, Alpen and Ready Brek brands of breakfast cereals, from Bright Food and BPEA for $1.4 billion.^[21]
• In 2018, BPEA sold its holding in PSB Academy to Intermediate Capital Group.^[22]
• In 2020, BPEA and CITIC Capital sold their holdings in Wall Street English to its original founder, Luigi Tiziano Peccenini.^[23]
• In 2021, BPEA acquired Virtusa for $2 billion.^[24]

References

1. "Baring Private Equity Asia Investor Profile: Portfolio & Exits | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
2. "Profile: Baring Asia's Jean Eric Salata | AVCJ". avcj. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
3. Thomson, Andy (30 December 2012). "Baring-backed Minth raises $450m". Private Equity International. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
4. "Profile: Baring Asia's Jean Eric Salata | AVCJ". avcj. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
5. "Jean Salata". Forbes. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
6. "AMG Announces Investment in Baring Private Equity Asia". BPEA. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
7. "New Details Emerge on AMG's Deal with Baring Private Equity Asia". Fortune. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
8. Ou, Christie (7 February 2017). "BPEA launches first India fund after Religare deal". Private Debt Investor. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
9. Dummett, Ben (16 March 2022). "EQT Buys Baring Asia Unit in $7.5 Billion Private-Equity Merger". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
10. "EQT takes over HK-based Baring Private Equity Asia". DealStreetAsia. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
11. Nair, Kavitha (10 January 2023). "PE Digest: BPEA EQT changes name; CapitaLand acquires SG property". DealStreetAsia. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
12. "AMG | Baring Private Equity Asia". www.amg.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
13. "Baring Private Equity Asia | Palico". www.palico.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
14. Wu, Kane (14 September 2022). "Baring Private Equity raises $11.2 bln in one of Asia's largest buyout funds". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
15. Velezmoro, Sara. "BPEA Credit closes $475 million fund, its largest to date | bpea, credit, eqt, india, debt, private credit, private equity, kachan jain". FinanceAsia. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
16. Davis, Anita (13 July 2011). "Nestle tables $1.7b offer for Hsu Fu Chi". AVCJ. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
17. Burroughs, Tim (9 October 2012). "Baring-backed Courts Asia targets $112m IPO". AVCJ. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
18. "Courts Asia IPO is a go". news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
19. Ju, Annabelle (22 May 2015). "Baring Asia picks up Vistra stake from IK". Private Equity International. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
20. "Thomson Reuters Announces Definitive Agreement to Sell its Intellectual Property & Science Business". www.thomsonreuters.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
21. "Post Holdings Completes Acquisition of Weetabix". Post Holdings. 3 July 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
22. Lee, Jamie (23 January 2018). "PSB Academy acquired by UK-listed Intermediate Capital Group". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
23. Quinn, Callan. "Wall Street English sold back to original founder "at a deep discount"". thepienews.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
24. "Baring Private Equity Asia Completes Acquisition of Virtusa". www.businesswire.com. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.