Bain Capital has closed its latest Asia region private equity fund at $US10.5 billion ($13.94 billion).
Bain Capital Asia VI will seek investment opportunities in Australia along with Japan, India, South Korea and China.
The Boston-based firm says the volume of capital raised for the latest fund indicates strong investor confidence in its now 20-year-old Asia private equity platform.
Funding commitments include $US1.4 billion from Bain Capital partners, employees, and related entities ensuring this group will collectively be the largest investor in the fund.
Bain Capital’s largest Australian investment to date was its $3.5 billion acquisition of airline Virgin Australia which it purchased out of voluntary administration in 2020. Under Bain, Virgin was restructured into a profitable domestic carrier. The company was refloated on the ASX last year, with Bain selling a 25% stake to Qatar Airways and retaining 40%. Another large Australian investment is aged-care business Estia Health which Bain acquired, as an ASX-listed business, for $2.5 billion in 2023 and delisted. Bain is believed to be close to exiting Estia.
Across the Asia region, Bain Capital employs nearly 200 investment and business operations professionals. The Asia platform invests across technology, industrials, consumer, healthcare and business and financial services.
Bain Capital partner and head of Asia private equity Yuji Sugimoto said: “Bain Capital’s private equity business has always been built around helping companies realise their full potential through operational improvement, strategic change, and close partnership with management teams. Over the past 20 years we have built those capabilities into our Asia platform in a way that combines local insight with the broader strengths of Bain Capital and that has enabled us to deliver strong outcomes for our investors and partner companies across market cycles. We continue to see significant opportunity across the region.”
The new fund will continue to focus on opportunities such as corporate carve-outs, founder transitions, industry consolidation, domestic restructuring, and cross-border growth opportunities.
Founded in 1984, Bain Capital is one of the world’s largest private investment firms and invests globally across private equity, growth capital, venture capital, capital solutions, credit & capital markets and real assets. The firm has about $US225 billion in assets under management.
Image: Bain Capital head of Asia private equity Yuji Sugimoto.