SHANGHAI--CVC Capital Partners will buy Asian office operator
The Executive Centre Ltd., marking the private-equity firm's first
investment from its $3.5 billion Asia fund.
Private-equity firms are facing growing pressure to invest,
having raised a record amount of cash for the region.
CVC will buy a majority stake in the Hong Kong-based office
operator from Asian private-equity firm Headland Capital Partners,
according to a CVC news release Wednesday. CVC expects to complete
the acquisition at the end of the month, after closing its fourth
Asia fund earlier this week.
The deal size wasn't disclosed.
CVC's capital injection in The Executive Centre comes as
investor appetite for initial public offerings--a common way for
firms to raise funds and private-equity firms to exit their
investments--has been lackluster in Asia. Headland, called HSBC
Private Equity Asia Ltd. until 2010, bought the office provider in
2009 from New York-based alternative-investment management company
Marathon Asset Management. Headland will keep a minority stake in
the office provider, the statement said.
The Executive Centre was founded in 1994 and operates 61 office
centers including premium rental spaces in ten countries in the
region, including China, Japan, India and Korea. It makes over $100
million in revenue annually.
London-based CVC has said it wants to invest its $3.5 billion
fund in Asia, including Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Korea. Its
recent deals in the region include a $300 million investment in
Philippine outsourcing business SPi Global Holdings Inc. and an
investment in Malaysian private fast-food operators QSR Brands and
KFC Holdings.
Write to Chao Deng at chao.deng@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires