Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, plans to double the number of employees at its private equity business in Singapore within the next two years to take advantage of growing deals in Southeast Asia, executives said.
Amit Dixit, head of Asia private equity (PE) at Blackstone, said the expansion in Singapore will bring the asset manager closer to its investor base, which includes sovereign wealth funds, family offices and individual investors. He said it would happen.
Blackstone’s PE team in Singapore will grow to six or seven people within two years, with Aravind Krishnan, managing director of the PE practice, moving to the city from Mumbai to lead the team, Dixit said. he said.
Blackstone is joining the growing list of global asset managers expanding or opening offices in Singapore as financial investors seek alternatives to China amid rising geopolitical tensions and a slowing economic recovery.
“Since COVID-19, companies locating their home in Singapore has really accelerated,” he said. “So whether your business is India, China, Korea or even a global business, your headquarters will be in Singapore.”
With over US$1 trillion of assets under management, including real estate, Blackstone favors businesses with a global presence and sees opportunities to invest in, build and grow such businesses in Southeast Asia.
Dixit said the New York-based fund manager will focus on sectors such as technology, healthcare, consumer, financial services and value-added industries and will consider deal sizes as small as US$150 million. It’s planned.
He said Blackstone has been operating in the city state for more than 10 years and employs more than 100 professionals.
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The firm is one of Asia’s largest PE players and became Asia’s second private equity fund in 2021, raising US$11 billion, almost triple its predecessor.
Dixit said the second fund is about 50% operational so far, and Blackstone will start raising capital for its third Asian private equity fund once about 75% is invested.
The company’s recent deals in Asia include the $1.6 billion acquisition of Singapore precision parts maker Interplex in 2022 and the acquisition of IBS Software Services by a rival acquisition company last year, according to Dealogic data. This includes a sale to Apax Partners for $450 million.