Regional investment firm Baring Private Equity Asia, which manages private equity and real estate funds, with a total AUM of approximately $16 billion, closed its second real estate fund last year amounting to $1 billion, according to Reuters. The fund is only it's second, but it had been the biggest that the company had closed so far.
The funding was oversubscribed, according to analysts, to the tune of $750 million. It was finally closed in August at $ 1 billion, according to confirmation from the firm itself. The second pan-Asia Pacific real estate fund will concentrate on total or partial equity investment. Other investment opportunities in the region are also on the agenda for the real estate fund.
This new fund that had been created already had placed an investment in Forest Logistics. The firm had been operating in China, investing a net amount of $300 million in various assets. Mark Fogle, Baring's head of real estate, had shared this when asked about the interests of the firm.
VCC Circle reported that Baring PE Asia's PE funds were instrumental in HK-based Nord Anglia Education, Inc acquiring five Oakbridge K-12 schools. These schools were available for kindergarten up to grade 12 students. The deal enabled the school chain to enter India, first purchasing assets from People Combine Education India Initiatives Ltd schools.
The said schools are located in Bengaluru, Hyrderabad, Mohali, and Vishakhapatnam. These schools have a total of 7,000 students between them. People Combine will be able to expand the offering of Oakbridge International Schools, group chairman Tummala Naga Prasad revealed in a statement.
The companies did not reveal any financial details, but insiders to the transaction had come out and said that the agreed-upon amount was likely somewhere around $200 million. This deal comes sometime after it was reported that People Combine had kicked off efforts to raise $113 million to $141 million.
Baring PE Asia had its first real estate investments in 2011. In 2015, the investment firm also raised its first Asian real estate fund, amounting to $365 million. Since the inception of that fund, it had made nine investments and had created a 21% net internal rate of return. By June 30, this was the amount that had been completed.
