NewQuest nears target of latest fundraise

NewQuest Capital Partners is nearing the target of its fourth flagship fund at least three months after launching the vehicle.

The Hong Kong-headquartered direct secondaries firm has raised $742 million so far for NewQuest Asia Fund IV, having made a first sale in June, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated 1 July.

Secondaries Investor reported in April that NewQuest was back in market targeting $850 million for Fund IV, a 60 percent increase on the amount raised for its predecessor. Fund IV does not yet have a hard-cap, Secondaries Investor understands.

The 2016-vintage Fund III raised $540 million against a target of $500 million after around four months in market, according to Secondaries Investor data. Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System is among the investors in the fund.

NewQuest increased its exposure to GP-led deals with Fund III, Secondaries Investor understands.

In August, NewQuest and Singapore’s GIC backed a $500 million renminbi-to-dollar restructuring on a fund managed by Loyal Valley Capital. The fund contains stakes from a number of early-stage healthcare companies and Chinese ‘unicorns’ – technology companies valued at more than $1 billion – Secondaries Investor wrote at the time.

In June last year, TPG acquired a significant minority stake in NewQuest, giving the Fort Worth-based firm a foothold in the Asian secondaries market. TPG’s placement agent arm TPG Capital BD is working on fundraising for Fund IV, according to the SEC filing.

Funds focused on Asia-Pacific accounted for $1.99 billion of capital raised for secondaries last year, equivalent to 6 percent of the total, Secondaries Investor noted in a February fundraising presentation.

NewQuest declined to comment on fundraising.