Southeast Asia’s leading PE firm Navis Capital Partners is set to launch its eighth fund in 2018. The vehicle will be significantly larger than the firm’s current fund Navis VII worth US$1.5 billion.
According to Navis, its seventh fund is currently in its third and final year at 70 percent drawn – a stage where most PE players have started to actively plan their new successor fund.
But so far no plans have been finalized for the size or timing of a successor fund, though the firm is said to be looking to raise up to US$2 billion for its next fund.
As an investor with a large presence in Southeast Asia and Australia, Navis focuses on building a portfolio related to food processing, restaurant dining, manufacturing, fast-moving consumer goods, outdoor advertising, auto rentals, consultancy, healthcare, and professional business services.
The Kuala Lumpur-based firm has invested in Chinese restaurant chain Imperial Treasure, Indonesian medical equipment distributor Tawada Healthcare, Vietnam’s Hanoi French Hospital and furniture and lifestyle brand Christian Liaigre, among some.
With Navis VIII, the PE firm plans for smaller investments below US$50 million to further extend its investments into the region. These investments in the range of US$10 million to US$50 million, which Venture Capital firms often find too big and Private Equity players find too small, can work to fill the requirements for certain players.
The firm’s exits for this year include the divestment of its controlling stake in retail apparel South Africa’s The Foschini Group to Australia’s Retail Apparel Group (RAG) in a deal worth US$225 million. The firm also sold its interest in Guardian Early Learning Group, a child care business operating a network of 71 child care centers across Australia, to funds managed and advised by Partners Group.
Navis Partners Capital currently manages several private and public equity funds totaling to US$5 billion in equity capital and has made more than 70 controlling investments since its inception.
It has one of the largest private equity professional teams in Asia, consisting over 60 individuals and supported by over 30 administrative staff in eight offices across the region.
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