SINGAPORE/HONG KONG/MUMBAI (Reuters) – Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, will double the headcount of its private equity business in Singapore within the next two years, an executive said. Deals with Southeast Asia.
Amit Dixit, Blackstone’s head of private equity in Asia, said expanding in Singapore will bring the asset manager closer to its investor base, which includes sovereign wealth funds, family offices and individual investors.
Blackstone’s Singapore PE team is expected to grow to six to seven people within two years, with Aravind Krishnan, managing director of the PE practice, moving to the city-state from Mumbai to lead the team. He added that.
Blackstone joins a growing list of global asset managers to expand or set up offices in Singapore as financial investors seek alternatives to China amid rising geopolitical tensions and a slowing economic recovery. .
“Since COVID-19, the number of companies locating their home in Singapore has really accelerated,” said Dixit. “So whether your business is India, China, Korea or even a global business, your headquarters will be in Singapore.”
Blackstone, which manages more than $1 trillion in assets including real estate and favors businesses with global reach, sees opportunities to invest in and build 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 $150 million. He plans to do so.
Blackstone has been operating in the city-state for more than a decade and employs more than 100 professionals.
The firm is one of Asia’s largest PE players, having raised $11 billion in 2021 as its second Asian private equity fund, nearly triple its predecessor.
Dixit said the second fund is about 50% invested so far and Blackstone will start raising capital for its third Asian private equity fund once it is about 75% 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. That included a $450 million sale to Apax Partners.