Private equity fundraising remains strong in Asia, most particularly in China. While the country’s current economic slowdown is troubling many investors, fundraising activity in Asia continues to stay strong, according to DealMarket.com, a Swiss platform for fundraising that also provides deal flow management tools.
The region has experienced big deals this year, including an all-time high. In September, Tesco sold its South Korean unit, Homeplus, to private equity firm MBK Partners, a deal worth over US$6 billion.
According to KPMG, we will continue to see a range of deals driven by the continued growth of the Asian middle class.
In a report entitled ‘Private Equity Spotlight: Exploring regional trends,’ the firm wrote:
“Although the opportunities remain broad, we see enhanced consumer spending driving the need for better services across several industries including education, healthcare, insurance, media and technology, fintech and the flow-on benefits for high-end manufacturing.”
The opportunities for private equity in Asia across most sectors remain promising and compared to many of the developed economies, the number of opportunities in the region and their average deal size still has significant room for growth, KPMG said.
The rise of online private equity platforms
2014 delivered big news for the private equity industry. Bain and Company estimates that exits from buyouts exceeded US$450 billion, surpassing the all-time high by a wide margin.
According to Urs Haeusler, DealMarkets CEO, the increasing volume of deals has led to the emergence of online private equity platforms.
“Competition is tougher than ever, and an online tool helps an investor or entrepreneur to identify the deal they want and get moving quicker than with traditional methods,” Haeusler told the Financier Worldwide.
Launched in mid-2011, DealMarket.com is an online platform for fundraising and deal flow management, “a one-stop-shop for private equity and corporate finance professionals,” the company claims.
For investors, DealMarket.com provides a platform to manage their deal flow, find deals and enlarge their network. The platform also provides due diligence tools, databases and related services. For fundraisers, the platform allows them to promote their deals, build their network and access fundraising tools.
This Zurich-based startup serves some 15,000 investment professionals and fundraisers from 150 different countries.
Over 3,000 deals and service providers have been promoted or listed so far. Users of DealMarket’s deal flow management tools include global leading banks such as UBS, but also private investors, associations and networks.
“In essence, [online deal flow management tools] make the whole process quicker, easier to follow, and more sure that everything that should happen, does happen,” Haeusler said.
He continued:
“New services help private equity professionals to connect and collaborate in even better ways. […] Limited partners are demanding greater transparency in the general partner’s work, as well as more collaboration and decision rights.”
Private equity platforms with deal flow management such as DealMarket.com, support these requirements and allow groups of investors to connect more efficiently, Haeusler said.
“There is no doubt [that private equity platforms] will continue to evolve, and as more private equity professionals and fundraisers begin to use them, they will soon become the place to go for deals of any kind,” he predicts.
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