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And the winner is ...As a reader of Private Equity International, you’ll be familiar with this next very special section, which details the firms, funds and deals that stood out from the crowd in 2015.

Each year, our global edit team works through the views and opinions of colleagues and contacts in the market to build a list of nominees for what is the private equity industry’s most comprehensive set of awards. The chal-lenge is to select the few who have caught the eye of many. In addition to drawing up a shortlist of four nomi-nees per category, we include a fifth ‘write-in’ option for each category to let readers input their own preferences. Attracting thousands of votes from all over the world, the results provide evidence of the dynamic and diverse nature of private equity.

While it’s the industry itself that ultimately chose this year’s slate of winners, there is one award given solely at our editorial team’s discretion: the PEI Game Changer Award. The 2015 Game Changer goes to PGGM CIO of private markets Ruulke Bagijn, who has been confronting transpar-ency, fees and other industry issues head-on. On p. 51, we detail some of her efforts to advance best practice to the next level.

In addition to honouring the private equity indus-try’s standout players in 2015, the following pages also provide a blueprint for which firms and funds are con-sidered best placed for 2016 and beyond. Quite simply, they are the world’s most highly regarded private equity professionals.

Congratulations to all the winners and runners-up, and very best of luck next year to everyone else.

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50 private equity international annual review 2015

THE PRIVATE EQUITY INTERNATIONAL AWARDS 2015: ROLL OF HONOUR

ASIAAMERICASEMEALARGE-CAP FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPECVC Capital Partners

MID-MARKET FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPEEQT

LIMITED PARTNER OF THE YEAR IN EUROPEPGGM

CO-INVESTOR OF THE YEAR IN EUROPEArdian

EXIT OF THE YEAR IN EUROPEKing Digital Entertainment (Apax Partners)

DEAL OF THE YEAR IN EUROPEDouglas Holdings (CVC Capital Partners)

SECONDARIES FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPEArdian

SECONDARIES DEAL OF THE YEAR IN EUROPEPalamon Capital Partners (Goldman Sachs AIMS PE Group/Morgan Stanley AIP/Rothschild Merchant Banking Group/ Adams Street Partners/PGGM)

SECONDARIES ADVISOR OF THE YEAR IN EUROPELazard

SPECIAL SITUATIONS/TURNAROUND FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPESun European Partners

DISTRESSED DEBT FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPEOaktree Capital Management

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN AFRICAHelios Investment Partners

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN BENELUXWaterland Private Equity Investments

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN CEE/RUSSIAMid Europa Partners

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN FRANCEPAI Partners

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN GERMANYTerra Firma Capital Partners

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN IBERIAMagnum Capital Industrial Partners

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ITALYApax Partners

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN MENAThe Abraaj Group

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN THE NORDICSEQT

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN SWITZERLANDPAI Partners

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN THE UKInflexion Private Equity

FUND OF FUNDS MANAGER OF THE YEAR IN EUROPEHarbourVest Partners

PLACEMENT AGENT OF THE YEAR IN EUROPECampbell Lutyens

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE (FUND FORMATION)King & Wood Mallesons

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE (TRANSACTIONS)King & Wood Mallesons

LENDER OF THE YEAR IN EUROPEICG

LARGE-CAP FIRM OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICAThe Blackstone Group

MID-MARKET FIRM OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICAPartners Group

LIMITED PARTNER OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICACDPQ

CO-INVESTOR OF THE YEAR IN THE AMERICASCanada Pension Plan Investment Board

NORTH AMERICAN DEAL OF THE YEARHeinz (3G Capital/Berkshire Hathaway)

NORTH AMERICAN EXIT OF THE YEARFreescale Semiconductor (The Blackstone Group/The Carlyle Group/Permira/TPG)

SECONDARIES FIRM OF THE YEAR IN THE AMERICASArdian

SECONDARIES DEAL OF THE YEAR IN THE AMERICASCalPERS real estate interests (Strategic Partners)

SECONDARIES ADVISOR OF THE YEAR IN THE AMERICASCredit Suisse

SPECIAL SITUATIONS/TURNAROUND FIRM OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICAKKR

DISTRESSED DEBT FIRM OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICAApollo Global Management

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN CANADAOnex

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN LATIN AMERICAAdvent International

FUND OF FUNDS MANAGER OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICAAberdeen Asset Management

PLACEMENT AGENT OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICAMercury Capital Advisors

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICA (FUND FORMATION)Kirkland & Ellis

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICA (TRANSACTIONS)Debevoise & Plimpton

LENDER OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICAAres Management

LARGE-CAP FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIABaring Private Equity Asia

MID-MARKET FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIANavis Capital Partners

LIMITED PARTNER OF THE YEAR IN ASIAGovernment of Singapore Investment Council

CO-INVESTOR OF THE YEAR IN ASIATemasek

EXIT OF THE YEAR IN ASIAHKBN (CVC Capital Partners)

DEAL OF THE YEAR IN ASIAGE Capital (KKR/Värde Partners/Deutsche Bank)

SECONDARIES FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIANewQuest Capital Partners

SECONDARIES DEAL OF THE YEAR IN ASIAMizuho Financial Group (Lexington Partners)

SECONDARIES ADVISOR OF THE YEAR IN ASIACredit Suisse

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN AUSTRALASIAPacific Equity Partners

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN CHINAKKR

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN JAPANJ-STAR

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN KOREAMBK Partners

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN INDIAEverstone Capital Partners

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN SOUTH-EAST ASIAAberdeen Asset Management

FRONTIER MARKET FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIADragon Capital

FUND OF FUNDS MANAGER OF THE YEAR IN ASIAAberdeen Asset Management

DISTRESSED/SPECIAL SITUATIONS FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIASSG Capital Management

PLACEMENT AGENT OF THE YEAR IN ASIAEaton Partners

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIA (FUND FORMATION)King & Wood Mallesons

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIA (TRANSACTIONS)Clifford Chance

51annual review 2015 private equity international

The power to really move the needle on issues within the private equity industry has always lain with investors, and yet there are not many among the LP com-munity who are willing to rock the boat. But in 2015, under the guidance of CIO of private markets Ruulke Bagijn, PGGM did exactly that.

Bagijn did not just oversee these changes, she took the lead, cementing her place as one of the most influential voices on the European private equity landscape.

In April, she took part in a roundta-ble discussion in the Dutch parliament to investigate the poor performance and bankruptcy of several Dutch portfolio com-panies, as well as the role of private equity within the country’s economy.

Following on from its guidelines on alignment and fees published at the end of 2014, Bagijn went a step further in August and asserted that by 2020 PGGM would stop investing in private equity managers who did not fully disclose their fees.

PGGM set out a new strategy for “acceptable remuneration”, which requires asset managers to be transparent regard-ing their pay and remuneration structures; performance fees only to apply in the event of above-average performance that is agreed in advance; and only basic remuneration to be paid for the costs and pay of the fund’s management.

“This is not something that can be achieved in the short term, and we real-ise that we also need this market in the meantime in order to generate returns for a decent pension,” Bagijn said of the strategy. “So, it is a journey that requires stamina, in which we will focus on undesirable

PRIVATE EQUITY GAME CHANGER OF THE YEAR 2015 Ruulke Bagijn, CIO Private Markets, PGGM

It is a journey that requires stamina, in which we will focus on undesirable

practices and denounce these to the financial services providers and publicly as well

Ruulke Bagijn

practices and denounce these to the finan-cial services providers and publicly as well.”

In November, Bagijn stood behind Dutch Labour Party lawmaker Henk Nijboer, who proposed tax reform to protect Dutch pen-sions and companies against “harmful” pri-vate equity firms, praising him for “rightly draw[ing] attention to excesses in private equity” and calling for greater transparency on remuneration and how it is linked to performance.

Over the course of the year Bagijn proved time and again her unwillingness to accept the status quo, her enthusiasm for engaging on issues at the heart of the private equity industry and her determina-tion to do the best by PGGM’s members. We look forward to seeing the GP com-munity rise to her transparency challenge in 2016. n


THE PEI AWARDS 2015: EMEA

LARGE-CAP FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE

1. CVC Capital Partners2. Permira3. Cinven

It was onwards and upwards for CVC Capital Partners, which takes home this coveted award for the third year running.

CVC’s “strategic opportunities” fund continued to balloon, reaching the $5 bil-lion mark and counting. The longer-horizon vehicle made its first two investments, back-ing UK roadside assistance business RAC and UK motorway service provider Moto.

CVC also continued to amass capital for its growth fund, which is on track to close above its $750 million target in March.

In June, the firm teamed up with The Carlyle Group to form Neptune Oil & Gas, which plans to make up to $5 billion of investments into the energy sector.

The European giant made some signifi-cant hires during the year, including bag-ging renowned German investment banker

Alexander Dibelius to head its business in German-speaking Europe and bringing in Krzysztof Krawczyk to head its new Warsaw office.

CVC also returned a heap of cash to its investors through several lucrative sales, including netting 2x through the sale of Virgin Active to Brait. Acquisitions include Stage Entertainment and Alvogen.

MID-MARKET FIRM OF THE YEAR

IN EUROPE

1. EQT2. PAI Partners3. Bridgepoint

Led by managing partner and CEO Thomas von Koch (pictured) Swedish powerhouse EQT was a force to be reckoned with in 2015. In August the firm held a first and final close on EQT VII on its €6.75 billion hard-cap, significantly above its €5.25 billion target, after just six months on the road. Undeterred by a six-year investment period and the option of deal-by-deal carry, the vehicle attracted a staggering €11 billion worth of interest.

It was a record year for the firm on the deal side, with acquisitions including Ital-ian healthcare device manufacturer Lima, Swedish men’s shirts brand Eden and north-ern European toy retailer TOP-TOY.

On the exit side, EQT made great use of a buoyant IPO market in the Nordics to list appliance business Dometic and Scandic Hotels. Among other exits were luxury mobile phone manufacturer Vertu and Bulgarian cable operator blizoo.

EQT also brought several new partners on board across its offices and opened a new outpost in Madrid.

LIMITED PARTNER OF THE YEAR

IN EUROPE

1. PGGM2. European Investment Fund3. Lancashire and London

Pensions Partnership

Last year PGGM confirmed its place as one of the most influential voices on the European private equity scene. The pen-

sion fund manager was at the forefront of the debate around fees and trans-parency within the industry.

CIO of private markets Ruulke Bagijn (pictured) took part in a roundtable discussion in the Dutch

parliament and took a stand against “excesses in private equity”, pledging

to support proposed reforms on tax and transparency.

Following its guidelines on alignment and fees published at the end of 2014, the fund went a step further and asserted that by 2020 it would stop investing in private equity managers that do not fully dis-close their fees.

As well as back-ing several new funds, PGGM was part of a consor-tium which acquired fleet management com-pany LeasePlan in a €3.7 bil-lion deal, and teamed up with a string of the industry’s biggest names to buy into a Pala-mon Capital Partners stapled transaction.

Alvogen: a significant investment for CVC in 2015


CO-INVESTOR OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE

1. Ardian2. LGT Capital Partners3. OMERS Private Equity

Limited partners are increasingly drawn to co-investments, hoping to boost returns. In 2015, Ardian was an active participant in that space, making a dozen co-investments, including in SIG, a manufacturer of aseptic carton packaging, and in Innovation Group, a provider of business process outsourcing

services with a focus on insurance claims processing, both based in Europe. The firm also did well on the exit side. “Strong mar-kets in 2015 have helped us achieve some excellent exits, especially the IPO of Spie, which was our biggest investment and the largest French IPO of the past five years,” said Alexandre Motte, head of co-investment.

After 10 years of involvement in co-investments, Ardian ended the year amid much fanfare with the final closing of its €1.1 billion fourth co-investment fund, sig-nificantly larger than its predecessor, which amassed €730 million in 2007. With that

fund, which was already one-third invested at the November close, Ardian will con-tinue to take minority positions in private equity deals.

EXIT OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE

1. King Digital Entertainment (Apax Partners)

2. AMCo (Cinven)3. Center Parcs

(The Blackstone Group)

Apax Partners’ sale of King Digital Entertainment is such stuff as private equity dreams are made of. Back in 2005 Apax Europe VI invested €29 million into the digital gaming company, which went on to create and launch mobile game Candy Crush Saga in 2011, one of the most popular games of all time.

Apax listed the company in New York in 2014 and sold its remaining 45 percent stake in November to video game maker Activision Blizzard – the brains behind Call of Duty and World of Warcraft – in a $5.9 bil-lion deal. At final exit total proceeds from the modest initial investment reached around €2.7 billion, while gross money on invested capital and IRR stood at an eye-watering 93x and 55 percent.

Not a bad result to bring home to inves-tors weeks before the launch of a new $7.5 billion European buyout fund.

DEAL OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE

1. Douglas Holdings (CVC Capital Partners)

2. Trainline (KKR)3. ICBPI (Advent International/

Bain Capital/Clessidra)

CVC Capital Partners’ acquisition of a majority stake in German perfume and cosmetics retailer Douglas Holdings

King Digital: regal returns for Apax

CVC: the German retailer had the scent of success


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private equity international annual review 201556

from Advent International caused a stir within the European private equity com-munity last summer.

Not only was the deal one of the year’s largest private equity-backed M&A transac-tion in the EMEA region, at €2.8 billion, it was also agreed mere days after Douglas had announced plans to return to the stock market.

Advent and the founding Kreke family – who re-invested alongside CVC for a 15 percent stake – took the retailer private in 2012 for around €1.5 billion.

Having seemed dead-set on an IPO, in announcing the CVC deal, chief executive Henning Kreke called the plan to go public “only the second-best option for the com-pany”, while CVC partner Søren Vester-gaard confirmed available capital for add-on acquisitions and a plan to take the business to the next level, focusing on “putting the customer in the centre”.

SECONDARIES FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE

1. Ardian2. Montana Capital Partners3. Coller Capital

It was a huge year for Ardian in Europe. The fund of funds opened a Madrid office, bringing its

global bureau tally to 11, and picked up

a €100 million portfo-lio of stakes from Nordic financial group Nordea.

Ardian’s secret sauce is its ability to complete on some of the largest deals of $1 billion or more in a quick and efficient manner, which gives comfort to large institutional investors looking to dispose of stakes. “There are only a few players that have the capacity to execute very large

deals,” Olivier Decannière (pictured), head of Ardian UK, told sister publication Sec-ondaries Investor last September. “We have the capacity to offer the liquidity on such large deals.”

The French firm has already got off to a flying start in 2016 with the purchase of a $940 million portfolio of private equity stakes from the Universities Superannua-tion Scheme.

With its latest $9 billion secondaries fund expected to close soon, we’ll be sure to hear more from this giant of the secondar-ies world this year.

SECONDARIES DEAL OF THE YEAR

IN EUROPE

1. Palamon Capital Partners (Goldman Sachs AIMS PE Group/Morgan Stanley AIP/Rothschild Merchant Banking Group/Adams Street Partners/PGGM)

2. Keva (Partners Group)3. Doughty Hanson

(HarbourVest Partners)

Five buyers led by Goldman Sachs AIMS Private Equity Group bought stakes in two tail-end Palamon Capital Partners funds and com-mitted capital to a new fund managed by the firm in what is known as a staple deal.

The group involved in the deal worth around €250 million also included Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, Rothschild Merchant Banking Group, Adams Street Partners and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM, with Credit Suisse advising.

Many of the US-based investors in Palamon’s funds wanted to decrease their exposure to European funds, and the buyers were able to pick up the stakes at attractive

prices. Couple this with the boost to fun-draising that Palamon, led by managing partner Louis Elson (pictured), got to its latest secondaries vehicle and it’s easy to see why there were happy faces all round.

By all accounts the deal was a win-win for all three parties, with the high-quality nature of the GP providing comfort to the group committing to the new fund.

SECONDARIES ADVISOR OF THE YEAR

IN EUROPE

1. Lazard Private Fund Advisory Group

2. Campbell Lutyens3. Credit Suisse

Competition in the secondaries advisory space was fierce last year with ever-more complex deals forcing advisors to come up with increasingly innovative ways to structure deals.

Lazard Private Fund Advisory Group rose to the challenge, completing deals across private equity, real estate and

infrastructure. In Europe, Lazard closed three complex GP-led liquid-

ity deals and ended the year with a bang, executing an eyecatching restructuring of two funds from Danish buyout firm Odin Equity Partners, now BWB

Partners. The deal typified everything the secondaries

market exists for: providing solu-tions to LPs wanting to exit an investment, giving new LPs attractive terms through a new vehicle, boosting fundraising, and breathing new life and a new set of dynam-ics into a fund through a new structure.

The firm’s rise in headcount to 15 pro-fessionals globally in its secondaries advi-sory team last year means there will likely be more innovative and creative deals from Lazard in 2016.


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annual review 2015 private equity international 57

SPECIAL SITUATIONS/TURNAROUND FIRM

OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE

1. Sun European Partners2. Endless3. Rutland Partners

It was a tight race in a category where investment opportunities have been thin on the ground, but Sun European Part-ners’ team seized the crown from last year’s winner Endless thanks to its acquisition record and on-the-ground expansion.

The European arm of Sun Capital Part-ners reached into the homes of millions of Britons with its acquisition of one of the largest exporters of fresh produce and flowers from Africa into the EU, Finlays Horticulture, which supplies the likes of UK retailers Tesco and Marks & Spencer.

Tim Stubbs’s promotion to senior MD responsible for operations and overseeing European portfolio performance means those acquisitions are in a safe pair of hands.

Stamping its footprint in the Nordics, the firm opened its first office in Stock-holm, hiring Michael Palm as managing director to head its third European out-post. In Frankfurt, the addition of Andreas Bosenberg as managing director bolstered the team.

DISTRESSED DEBT FIRM OF THE YEAR

IN EUROPE

1. Oaktree Capital Management2. Apollo Global Management3. Cerberus Capital Management

On an earnings call in the middle of 2015, US-based Oaktree Capital Group chief executive Jay Wintrob noted that the firm continued “to take advantage of opportuni-ties arising from the prolonged dislocation in the European lending markets stemming from the global financial crisis”.

The firm promptly launched two Europe-focused funds. Oaktree European Principal Fund IV (EPF IV) will target control investments “where dislocation or distress creates attractive investment propositions”, Wintrob said.

Oaktree European Capital Solutions Fund (ECS) will lend to mid-market com-panies. The firm has been coy about fund sizes, but EPF IV is likely to be ambitious given its predecessor raised €3.2 billion. The earlier fund in the ECS series tapped a noteworthy €675 million.

And there was good reason for the firm’s continued commitment to Europe. Its European assets generally outperformed the US markets in Q3, Wintrob noted in an

October call, with its European principal funds generating a 24 percent return over the previous 12 months.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN AFRICA

1. Helios Investment Partners2. The Abraaj Group3. Actis

Africa saw a surge of investment in 2015, with figures from African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s PE Data Tracker showing $4.3 billion was raised for the region last year, compared with $1.9 billion a year earlier.

It was in this booming environment that pan-African giant Helios Investment Partners knocked Actis off the top spot it had held for three consecutive years. After closing its third fund on its $1.1 billion hard-cap, making it the largest ever fund dedicated to African private equity, Helios also made its first-ever Egyptian invest-ment, backing electronic and payments platform Fawry.

Other notable investments included acquiring a 12.4 percent stake in Canadian oil and gas company Africa Oil Corp for $100 million and backing Crown Agents, specialist providers of financial solutions in emerging markets.

The firm followed this up with the exit of outdoor advertising company Continen-tal Outdoor Media, as well as offloading its shares in Equity Bank to NSSF Uganda.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN BENELUX

1. Waterland Private Equity Investments

2. Gilde Buy Out Partners3. H2 Equity Partners

It’s a first-time win for Netherlands-headquartered Waterland Private Sun European Partners: flowering in Europe


››


Equity Investments, and what a year the firm has had, closing its sixth institu-tional fund on €1.25 billion in just three months, as well as raising €300 million for its WPEF VI Overflow Fund.

Waterland also appointed Frank Vlayen as group managing partner and chief execu-tive officer. In his new role he will take over the day-to-day management of Waterland from founder and chairman Rob Thielen.

Vlayen joined Waterland in 2005 as prin-cipal and during his tenure was involved in a number of notable deals, including nursing homes business Senior Living Group.

The team also obtained a licence as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager under the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and got more involved in economic, social and corporate govern-ance issues when it became a signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN CEE/RUSSIA

1. Mid Europa Partners2. VTB Capital3. 21 Concordia

With challenging invest-ment conditions and

continued investor apathy in Cen-tral and Eastern Europe’s private equity market, it

is understandable that some inves-

tors were reluctant to invest in the region in 2015. But not Mid Europa Partners.

It was another strong year for the mid-cap buyout firm, which saw the team make four investments representing half a billion euros and three exits, alongside promoting five.

The group led by Thierry Baudon (pic-tured) put its €800 million fourth fund to

work, backing Danube Foods Group in one of the region’s top 10 private equity-backed M&A deals of the year, according to data from Dealogic, making an investment in Romanian healthcare company Centrul Medical Unirea and acquiring call centre business CMC from ISS Turkey.

The firm also increased its stake in Walmark, a consumer healthcare portfolio company from its third fund, after originally acquiring a 50 per cent stake in 2012.

The team also offloaded industrial equipment company Norican to Altor and telecom group Bite to Providence, the last two assets in its 2005 Fund II.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN FRANCE

1. PAI Partners2. Bridgepoint3. LBO France

The French private equity sector has faced a tricky few years. The effects of aggressive tax plans and relative inaction on tackling the country’s deficit by the government gave investors plenty of reasons to avoid the local buyout market.

So the fact that PAI Partners shat-tered its €3 billion hard-cap to close its sixth fund on €3.3 billion last year was certainly noteworthy.

The buyout firm showed that it is back and stronger than ever, demonstrating its ability to execute a number of high-profile transactions.

During the year the firm put Fund VI to good use, acquiring European budget hotel chain B&B Hotels from The Carlyle Group and Montifiore, and European out-door equipment retailer AS Adventures from Lion Capital.

Highlights on the exit side included the sale of e-commerce brand Hunkemöller to Carlyle and GCS from the firm’s fourth fund in December, and netting a 2x return from the sale of its shares in IT services group Atos.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN GERMANY

1. Terra Firma Capital Partners2. CVC Capital Partners3. Deutsche Beteiligungs

It was a busy year for Guy Hands’s firm. As well as preparing to return to market with a €2 billion fund – with €1 billion of committed capital already under the firm’s belt – Hands decided to share ownership of Terra Firma for the first time with the appointment of former Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King.

On top of that Terra Firma pulled off one of the most impressive European exits

AS Adventures: acquired by PAI with its latest fund


››


of the year. Having drastically transformed German motorway service area business Tank & Rast over a decade-long hold, clev-erly repositioning it as an infrastructure asset, the firm sold it to Allianz Capital, one of the business’s previous owners, in a deal generating a 7.5x return and an IRR of 122 percent, as well as delivering €2.1 billion back to investors in the 2002-vintage Terra Firma Capital Partners II.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN IBERIA

1. Magnum Capital Industrial Partners

2. Trilantic Capital Partners3. Black Toro

Madrid-based Magnum Capital Indus-trial Partners got 2015 off to a strong start, holding a first close of between €150 million and €200 million on its second vehi-cle purely off the back of existing investors.

From there the firm provided the LP community with several good reasons why it deserves a commitment.

In July, Magnum sold Spanish elderly care group Geriatros to PAI Partners in a deal generating a 3.5x return and an

IRR of more than 50 percent. In October a joint venture controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing agreed to acquire Portuguese wind-farm operator Iberwind Group in a €288 million deal.

Magnum also completed two recapitali-sations, of fragrances and flavours producer Iberchem and Portuguese generic pharma-ceuticals business Generis. All in all the firm returned around €500 million to its investors.

The firm also put Magnum Capital II to work, picking up orthopaedic device manufacturer Orliman from The Riverside Company, and is on-track to close the vehi-cle on its €500 million target this summer.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ITALY

1. Apax Partners2. Clessidra3. AlcedoApax Partners may not be the first name

that comes to mind when you think of the private equity industry in Italy, but the Euro-pean heavyweight certainly made its pres-ence felt in 2015 with two spectacular exits.

In April the 2005-vintage, €4.31 billion Apax Europe VI agreed to offload its stake in Italian bank Banca Farmafactoring to Centerbridge Partners following a dual-track process, netting an expected 5.5x return and 23 percent IRR.

The firm closed out the year with its first divestment from the $7.5 billion Apax VIII, offloading Rhiag-Inter Auto Parts Italia

to LKQ Corporation in a deal valuing the business at €1.04 billion and generating a gross return of 3.25x and an IRR of more than 60 percent.

The two exits contributed to the whop-ping $16.6 billion Apax has returned to is investors since January 2014. Not bad going as they hit the fundraising trail with another $7.5 billion fund.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN MENA

1. The Abraaj Group2. Apax Partners3. Samena Capital

Shortlisted last year, UAE-based The Abraaj Group regained the top spot in 2015, a just reward for a stellar year in its home region. The firm shot past its $250 million target to close its second North Africa-focused fund on $375 million in July, more than three times larger than its previous vehicle.

With its focus on healthcare, fast moving consumer goods and education, the fund was already 70 percent deployed by the end of the year. Typically growing market lead-ing businesses, the firm further expanded its healthcare platform North Africa Hos-pital Holding Company with acquisitions in Egypt and Tunisia, and partnered with Egyptian education group Tiba. In another headline transaction, the firm joined with TPG to invest in Saudi Arabian fast food company Kudu, TPG’s first deal in the region.

Tank & Rast: Terra Firma pulled off the largest EMEA transaction of the year

Rhiag: one of two stellar Italian exits for Apax last year


Abraaj Group: investing in MENA market leaders

››


Abraaj’s exits included a landmark London-listing in May for Egypt’s Inte-grated Diagnostics Holdings, which was 11.2 times oversubscribed.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN THE NORDICS

1. EQT2. Valedo Partners3. Nordic Capital

The Swedish giant stormed back in 2015 to snatch the top spot from last year’s cham-pion Nordic Capital with a sensational fund close and record deal activity.

In August EQT held a first and final close on its seventh buyout fund on its €6.75 billion hard-cap, significantly above its €5.25 billion target, after just six months on the road and having attracted €11 billion worth of interest.

With plenty of capital to put to work, EQT secured several notable new investments in the region, including picking up a major-ity stake in Nordic Aviation Capital, Danish brick house producer HusCompagniet, toy retailer TOP-TOY, Swedish industrial vacuum business Piab and Swedish men’s shirts brand Eton, and launching a public-to-private of Swedish enterprise software maker IFS.

Among a healthy string of exits EQT pulled off the year’s largest private-equity-backed IPO in the Nordic region, listing appliances business Dometic with a SKr14.2 billion (€152 million; $166 million) valuation.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN SWITZERLAND

1. PAI Partners2. KKR3. Invision Private Equity

Despite initial panic when the Swiss National Bank announced its intention to abandon the SFr/euro exchange rate floor in January 2015, followed by an immediate

and strong appreciation of the Swiss Franc, Switzerland remained an attractive region for foreign and domestic investors in 2015, including PAI Partners.

This is the second win this year for the firm, after also having a great year in France despite tough market conditions.

After a record-breaking fundraising year, which saw the team close its sixth fund above hard-cap at €3.3 billion, it was also actively investing from its fifth fund in Switzerland.

In a notable exit, the firm sold aviation company Swissport, a worldwide opera-tor in ground handling and cargo services, which serves around 224 million passengers and 4.1 million tonnes of cargo a year on behalf of some 700 client-companies, to Chinese conglomerate HNA in a SFr 2.73 billion (€2.5 billion; $2.7 billion) deal.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN THE UK

1. Inflexion Private Equity2. Charterhouse Capital Partners3. Equistone Partners Europe

In a thriving UK market, London headquar-tered mid-market firm Inflexion Private Equity made six investments and three exits, including generating an impressive 14x return and 44 percent IRR on the sale of air conditioning pump manufacturer Aspen Pumps to fellow mid-market firm 3i.

The team acquired Alcumus Group for £92 million (£132 million; €117 million) from Sovereign Capital and sold Reward Gateway to US PE firm Great Hill Partners, generating a 7.7x return and 59 per cent IRR.

A notable 4x return and 80 percent IRR was also made when the firm floated Sanne Group on the London Stock Exchange.

The team also generated a 3.6x return and 84 per cent IRR when it floated online holiday retailer On the Beach Group on the London Stock Exchange at a market cap of £240 million within just 23 months of ownership.

FUND OF FUNDS MANAGER OF THE YEAR

IN EUROPE

1. HarbourVest Partners2. Morgan Stanley Alternative

Investment Partners3. Access Capital Partners

With a glass of champagne in hand as the London Stock Exchange opened, Harbour-Vest’s listed vehicle HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) stepped up from the Specialist Fund Market to the main board in early September.

Speaking after the listing, HVPE chair-man Michael Bunbury said it opened it up to “people of more modest means who want to have an exposure to private equity”.

HVPE’s investment portfolio stood at $1.2 billion at the end of October. The firm has committed €12 billion to Euro-pean investments since inception. With a new office on Jermyn Street, the London team continues to grow, amounting to 40 professionals targeting EMEA investments and investor relations.

In November, Carolina Espinal was pro-moted to managing director in London, reinforced by the promotion of two Lon-don-based principals in the same month. Her colleague, managing director Kathleen Bacon, is a founding member of non-profit

Inflexion: generated a strong return through the IPO of On the Beach Group


››


Level20, launched last year to promote the number of women within private equity.

PLACEMENT AGENT OF THE YEAR EUROPE

1. Campbell Lutyens 2. Lazard3. Rede Partners

The London-headquartered Campbell Lutyens has roared in at number one in this category for the fourth consecutive year. Aside from its thriving secondaries business, infrastructure mandates and international activity from its offices in New York and Hong Kong, the firm helped raise €2.54 billion of European primary funds alone last year.

It got off to an early start, assisting UK upper mid-market firm Exponent Private Equity close its third flagship vehicle on £1 billion ($1.5 billion; €1.3 billion) in April, thought to be one of the largest single coun-try-focused European funds. The fund sped from first close in January to final close in just three months, beating its initial £800 million target.

On the primary side, Exponent’s third fund was one of four $1 billion-plus vehicles the firm helped raise last year. Overall it helped 12 managers raise $12.9 billion of capital, including 29 closes, of which seven were final and oversubscribed.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE

(FUND FORMATION)

1. King & Wood Mallesons2. Clifford Chance3. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

It’s never a surprise to see the King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) team appear in this category, and they especially deserved to take the top honours in 2015. It was another action-packed year for the private equity group led by industry luminaries

Jonathan Blake (pictured) and Michael Halford. In a crowded fundraising envi-ronment, they managed to clinch quick and hefty capital hauls for firms across the region, raising a plethora of funds from the likes of niche players such as Access Capi-tal Partners and Portobello Capital to big buyout funds from PAI Partners and Ardian.

One of most the notable successes for the team last year was advising on the €1.1 billion Ardian Co-investment IV, which received commitments from more than 50 investors globally, of which more than half were new to Ardian. Navigating the ever-popular co-investment space is never easy, and KWM ensured the fund closed without a hitch.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE

(TRANSACTIONS)

1. King & Wood Mallesons2. Clifford Chance3. Allen & Overy

While active on the fund formation side, King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) saw an equally robust amount of work on the deal side in 2015, propelling the firm to dethrone 14-time category winner Clifford Chance.

The team worked on a slew of deals, showing strength in complex exits and restructurings. For example, the Inflex-ion Equity Partners carve-out of the

Engineering Inspection & Consultancy division from Royal & Sun Alliance Insur-

ance and RSA Insurance Ireland. Last year also saw the

KWM team advise Bowmark Cap-ital on the disposal of the entire issued

share capital of restaurant chain Las Iguanas to Casual Dining Group.

But one of the most complex under-takings of the year was on Intermediate Capital Group’s £1.2 billion ($1.7 billion; €1.56 billion) disposal of equity, debt and co-investment interests in the portfolio of 34 European companies to a US investor. If this kind of activity keeps up, KWM can expect to keep its hold on this title in 2016.

LENDER OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE

1. ICG2. Ares Management3. Idinvest

Competition in this category is always tight. Last year’s winner for Mid-cap Lender of the Year has grabbed the top spot in our revised overall category for 2015, and London-based Intermediate Capital Group certainly deserves it.

Benoit Durteste, who heads the firm’s well-established mezzanine strategy and sits on both the investment and executive committees, said the manager has, as one of the longest-lived incumbents in Europe, stayed ahead of the curve by embracing new strategies and expanding into new markets.

With around €1.4 billion deployed into 15 deals in 2015, the senior strategy clipped along list year and the firm closed its second fund on its €3 billion hard-cap. That €3 billion was matched by Europe VI, its flagship mezzanine fund, signalling larger deals ahead. Cut the numbers any way, said head of direct lending, Max Mitchell – deals done, money deployed, size of loans – and the theme is the rise of the asset class. nKWM: disposals on the menu


63annual review 2015 private equity international

LARGE-CAP FIRM OF THE YEAR

IN NORTH AMERICA

1. The Blackstone Group2. Warburg Pincus3. KKR

The cash-raising behemoth The Black-stone Group had a major fundraising year in 2015. It closed its Blackstone Capital Partners VII on $18 billion, surpassing its $17.5 billion hard-cap with an additional $500 million commitment from the firm and its employees.

It also finished fundraising for its latest energy fund, Blackstone Energy Partners II, on its $4.5 billion hard-cap, with demand from existing and new investors exceeding that amount. Its total dry powder for the year soared to $85 billion. If it completes its transaction with BioMed Realty Trust for around $8 billion this month as expected, it will mark the largest private equity deal from last year.

“[Blackstone] generated $11.5 billion of liquidity for investors through sales and IPOs of our portfolio companies, and selec-tively invested in high quality companies in a tricky investing environment,” Blackstone global head of private equity Joseph Baratta told Private Equity International.

MID-MARKET FIRM OF THE YEAR

IN NORTH AMERICA

1. Partners Group2. Thoma Bravo3. The Riverside Company

The global asset manager kept busy in 2015 with plenty of deals in its pipeline in North America. Partners Group kicked off the year with the acquisition of metal components manufacturer Dynacast International at an enterprise value of $1.1 billion.

Joel Schwartz (pictured), the firm’s head of private equity in the Americas, told Private Equity International: “[Last year] was a stand-out for our private equity business in North America. Not only did we close a series of notable acquisitions, including Dynacast, KinderCare Education and Pacific Bells, but we were also able to secure strong exits for our investments in Universal Services of America and Nobel Learning.”

It also entered defined contribution markets in 2015 to open the doors of pri-vate equity to retail investors. It launched its US fund in August and had secured its first client for the vehicle by year-end.

LIMITED PARTNER OF THE YEAR

IN NORTH AMERICA

1. CDPQ2. University of California Regents

Endowment Fund3. Alameda County Employees’

Retirement Association3. Rhode Island State Treasury

CDPQ is 18 months into a five-year plan to grow its illiquid private equity and infra-structure assets from $35 billion to $50 billion, allocating up to $8 billion per year to both asset classes.

In 2015 CDPQ created an innovative partnership with Mexican pension

funds. This partnership would allow CDPQ to invest more than $2.1 bil-lion in Mexican opportunities over the next five years.

The Canadian firm, led by presi-dent and CEO Michael Sabia (pic-

tured), began its direct investment programme before it began allocating to funds; as of May it was investing around $26 billion in private equity, of which $9 billion went to funds and $17 billion to direct investments.

“We are at a unique moment in time where the few institutions with the size of balance sheet, the time horizon and the capa-bilities to execute smart transactions will emerge as important players in the private equity landscape,” Andreas Beroutsos, exec-utive vice-president of private equity and infrastructure, told Private Equity Interna-tional last year.

THE PEI AWARDS 2015: AMERICAS

Black star: Blackstone generated $11.5 billion of liquidity for investors in 2015 ››


In August, CDPQ bolstered its US pri-vate equity team by hiring Sanjay Gupta from Adveq for the newly-created position of senior director in New York.

CO-INVESTOR OF THE YEAR IN THE AMERICAS

1. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)

2. CDPQ3. Hamilton Lane

Canada’s largest federal public pension fund stayed active in the co-investment realm throughout 2015. The Canada Pen-sion Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) teamed up with BC Partners and other co-investors to commit a total of about $1 billion to multinational cable and tel-ecommunications company Altice, which proposed an acquisition of Cablevision Systems Corporations. It also joined forces with CVC Capital Partners to acquire Petco for $4.6 billion.

“In 2015, our PE fund partners con-tinued to offer to us a large number of well-researched investment opportuni-ties,” CPPIB global head of investment

partnerships Pierre Lavallée (pictured) told Private

Equity International. “Our partners tell us they value our long-term com-mitment to the asset class and

our reliability as an investment partner.”

Earlier in the year, CPPIB partnered with Permira to take Informatica Corporation private for about $5.3 billion, the largest leveraged buyout for 2015 at the time, beating a rival bid from Thoma Bravo and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

As of 30 June, the $200 billion-plus pen-sion fund had six co-investments in com-panies based in North America.

NORTH AMERICAN DEAL OF THE YEAR

1. Heinz (3G Capital/Berkshire Hathaway)

2. Cirque du Soleil (TPG, Fosun, CDPQ)

3. Informatica (CPPIB, Permira)

In a tasty merger between two food giants, 3G Capital partnered with Warren Buf-fet’s Berkshire Hathaway to create Kraft Heinz Company. The merger, which took two years to close, marked the sixth largest private equity deal in 20 years. The result was the creation of the third largest food company in North America, after Coca Cola and PepsiCo, and the fifth biggest in the world. The merger was worth $27.5 billion, slightly above the $23 billion the pair had paid for the acquisition of Heinz two years earlier.

Through this deal, 3G co-founder Alex Behring became chairman of the Kraft Heinz board, with Buffett as a board director. The incumbent Heinz chief executive Bernardo Hees, a Brazilian economist and business-man, became CEO of the new company.

Following the merger, Kraft stopped trading on the NASDAQ as Kraft Heinz began trading its common shares and paid stockholders a 55 cent cash dividend per share.

NORTH AMERICAN EXIT OF THE YEAR

1. Freescale Semiconductor (The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Permira, TPG)

2. Petco (TPG, Leonard Green)3. IDC (Silver Lake, Warburg Pincus)

The marriage between private equity and Freescale Semiconductor was a long and twisted one marked by many ups and downs. Although The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Permira and TPG, which purchased the company in 2006 for $17.6 billion, showed a loss on paper when the company went through an initial public offering in 2011, they held onto the stock. After a troubled hold in a highly cyclical sector, the private equity firms surprised many by getting out with their money back in a 2015 deal worth $16.7 billion, includ-ing debt.

The acquisition of Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor by Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors, a transaction valued at nearly $12 billion excluding debt, turned out to be the largest private equity tech-related exit of 2015 and the largest semiconductor deal since 2006. The merger was announced in March and completed in November.

SECONDARIES FIRM OF THE YEAR

IN THE AMERICAS

1. Ardian2. Lexington Partners3. Strategic Partners

Think secondaries and it’s hard to get past Ardian. The Paris-headquartered fund of funds is active in almost every alternative assets space and it’s not hard to see why they clinched the top spot for secondaries firm of the year in both the Americas and

3G and Berkshire Hathaway: creating a food giant



Europe. Ardian completed more than $5 billion in secondaries deals last year and emerged as the buyer in some of the biggest deals from 2015.

Ardian provided around $250 million of liquidity to limited partners in a tender offer process in Kelso & Co’s eighth fund and opened an office in San Francisco, in addition to expanding its New York pres-ence.

“It’s in our DNA to work on these large and complex transactions,” said Benoît Ver-brugghe, head of Ardian US. “The second half of 2015 was very active and we were able to clinch several transactions with a pension fund, a sovereign wealth fund and a financial institution.”

SECONDARIES DEAL OF THE YEAR

IN THE AMERICAS

1. CalPERS real estate interests (Strategic Partners)

2. Adams Street Partners/ Strategic Partners

3. Irving Place Capital

A quick search for the biggest secondaries deals of last year and one thing’s apparent: real estate secondaries dominated the field. Secondaries deal volume in the asset class hit $8.2 billion, according to Landmark Partners, with around a third of that driven by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s (CalPERS) $3 bil-lion sale of a portfolio of real estate stakes to Strategic Partners.

Everything about this deal involves superlatives. CalPERS, the US’s largest pension, brought real estate fund stakes to market in the biggest secondaries deal ever, with the secondaries unit of Blackstone, now the largest owner of real estate in the world, picking up the stakes.

“The key thing about the CalPERS deal is that it was global, diversified and with quality GPs and underlying assets,”

a spokesman for Strategic Partners said, adding that the unit marked its 900th deal last year and has closed more than 100 transactions in real estate.

SECONDARIES ADVISOR OF THE YEAR

IN THE AMERICAS

1. Credit Suisse2. Park Hill3. Evercore

GP-led restructurings and liquidity solu-tions were on everyone’s lips in 2015, and for Credit Suisse, it is its bread and butter. Such deals accounted for up to 70 percent of the secondaries advisory team’s business in the Americas last year, with such transac-tions set to increase.

This is the second year in a row the group has won in the Americas, a region that accounted for about half the 25 deals the private fund group closed globally in 2015. What is it about Credit Suisse’s approach that allows them to close every deal they take on? “We like to roll up our sleeves to evaluate all transaction objectives, as we have to be selective with deals we will pursue,” said Mike Custar, global head of secondary advisory at Credit Suisse.

Credit Suisse’s corporate finance

approach to secondaries advisory gives it a competitive edge, and with the GP-led space rising to account for about 25 percent of the secondaries market globally from about 20 percent in 2014, the firm’s year ahead is certainly one to watch.

SPECIAL SITUATIONS/TURNAROUND FIRM

OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICA

1. KKR2. Marlin Equity Partners3. KPS Capital Partners

KKR, the 40-year-old investment pow-erhouse, launched KKR Special Situations Fund II as the new year began, looking to raise a total of $3 billion, beyond the $2 billion it raised in January 2014 for its debut global special situations fund. Run by Nat Zilkha in London and Jamie Weinstein in San Francisco, the team also includes pro-fessionals in New York and Sydney.

The fund pursues three main investment strategies: rescue lending, distressed for con-trol deals and secondary market distressed purchases. The vehicle held a first close on $1.7 billion in April, and has already made several investments, including leading the asset-backed $175 million securitisation

CalPERS, Strategic Partners: dominating the market


››


of Avant Loans alongside Victory Park Capital.

Special Situations II is still in fundraising mode, having recently secured a $150 mil-lion commitment from the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission.

DISTRESSED DEBT FIRM OF THE YEAR

IN NORTH AMERICA

1. Apollo Global Management2. Oaktree Capital Management3. Cerberus Management

In 2015, Leon Black’s Apollo Global Management was busy on the fundrais-ing trail. It closed its third structured credit fund, Apollo Structured Credit Recovery Fund III, on $1.237 billion, raising 10 times the amount of assets the firm landed for its predecessor vehicle.

That fund invests primarily in collater-alised loan obligations, collateralised debt obligations, various tranches of residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS), com-mercial MBSs and other asset-backed secu-rities. Last year, the firm also launched the Energy Credit Opportunity Fund to invest in less liquid or illiquid products in energy industries.

Apollo has clearly emerged as a signifi-cant player in the credit arena in recent years, with more than $112 billion under management in that business segment as of August, trumping its nearly $40 billion assets under management in the private equity segment.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN CANADA

1. Onex2. KERN Partners3. Fonds de Solidarité FTQ

After delivering record realisations of $6.1 billion in 2014, Canadian private equity

firm Onex continued its strong streak in 2015.

It completed five acquisitions through its Onex Partners IV, investing a combined $1.9 billion of capital. In March, the firm backed survival equipment business Sur-vitec Group and packaging products and services business SIG Combibloc. Onex went on to back Jack’s Family Restaurants and Schumacher Clinical Partners in July.

Onex also exited Tropicana Las Vegas, realising $230 million, in August, and entered an agreement to exit call centre operations company Sitel Worldwide, which it took private in 2007 for $400 million.

In June it upped its commitment to Onex Partners IV by $500 million to $1.7 billion, bringing the fund total size to $5.7 billion. As of 30 September, Onex’s fourth fund had generated a 12 percent gross IRR, before carried interest and management fees and expenses.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN LATIN AMERICA

1. Advent International2. The Abraaj Group3. The Axxon Group

Advent International actively deployed capital in Latin America last year, picking up minority stakes in diagnostic services provider Fleury, and in frequent flyer pro-gramme LifeMiles from its parent company Avianca. It also acquired higher education company Faculdade da Serra Gaucha and

a stake in Mexican bank Grupo Financiero Mifel.

“Last year was among our most active in our 20-year history of investing and build-ing value in Latin America,” said Patrice Etlin, managing partner at Advent.

“We executed eight transactions in the region, which included investing over $600 million in five new businesses and two follow-ons in existing portfolio companies, and completing one exit. Additionally, in 2014, we raised the largest private equity fund ever in Latin America. We are very proud of our achievements in the past few years and look forward to 2016.”


IN NORTH AMERICA

1. Aberdeen Asset Management2. Neuberger Berman3. Hamilton Lane

Aberdeen Asset Management’s acqui-sition of US-based FLAG Capital Manage-ment in late August quietened voices in the market bemoaning funds of funds and shouted loudly in favour of those that see increased client demand for diversification and fund of funds offerings.

The completion of the acquisition added a wealth of private equity resources and expertise in North America to the firm, as well as £4.4 billion ($6.4 billion; €5.7 billion) of private equity and real estate assets to its £284 billion of assets under management, as of 30 September 2015. Its total private equity assets stood at £9 billion.

The US private equity team, led by Scott Read (pictured), confirmed its pole position as a leading North American player by reaching final close in October on Aberdeen US Private

Onex: embarked on a buying spree


››


Equity VI. The fund closed on $295 mil-lion, overshooting its target by 30 percent. The first to close since the FLAG acquisi-tion, it was oversubscribed within about four months of its launch.

PLACEMENT AGENT OF THE YEAR

IN NORTH AMERICA

1. Mercury Capital Advisors2. Eaton Partners3. Park Hill

Mercury Capital Advisors kept busy in 2015, working on 12 fundraisings in North America targeting more than $9 billion in aggregate capital commitments. These funds have closed on over $3 billion to date. One of the funds it is working on is in Latin America, targeting $350 million; the vehicle has closed on $230 million of commitments from investors.

“While 2015 was a great year, 2016 will be both great and challenging,” a Mercury spokesman told Private Equity International. “Great in that investors are capitalised and backing strong managers, like Nautic; chal-lenging in that LPs are also cautious, given market volatility and the pullback in China.”

Nautic Partners’ Fund VIII closed on its hard-cap of $900 million in January after just three months of formal fundraising. Earlier in the year, in July, Mercury advised on US Farm Trust’s $300 million inaugural vehicle and raised a club deal with two Canadian investors, among other commitments.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICA

(FUND FORMATION)

1. Kirkland & Ellis 2. Debevoise & Plimpton3. Clifford Chance

This is Kirkland & Ellis’s third year as the winner of Private Equity International’s

Law Firm of the Year award in Fund Formation for North America, and it’s no secret why.

To say the group, led by John O’Neil (pictured), was busy in 2015 would be an understatement. Kirkland is currently providing their expertise to 350 fundraises, representing some 275 unique sponsors and exceeding $290 billion in total commitments.

It’s hard to choose which of the many mammoth fundraises to highlight, but in 2015 some key formations included the $12 billion Warburg Pincus XII, which held a “one and done” close after just six months in market, one of the largest single closings in private equity history, the $5.6 billion Starwood Opportunity Fund X and the $2.25 billion Audax Private Equity Fund V.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICA

(TRANSACTIONS)

1. Debevoise & Plimpton 2. Skadden, Arps, Slate,

Meagher and Flom3. Ropes & Gray

After winning the top spot in this category back in 2013, Debevoise & Plimpton is back with a vengeance and a long list of impres-

sive transaction work. In 2015, the firm repre-

sented 16 private equity clients in 29 announced transactions. Notably in

June, Debevoise represented Canada Pen-sion Plan Investment Board in the compli-cated multi-jurisdictional acquisition of GE Capital’s sponsor lending business, includ-ing Antares Capital, for a total considera-tion of $12 billion. They also advised Morgan Stanley Global Private Equity and Creative Circle in the $600 million sale of Creative Circle. Other top clients in 2015 transactions included Apollo Global Management, CD&R and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

LENDER OF THE YEAR IN NORTH AMERICA

1. Ares Management2. GSO3. Golub Capital

Despite the sale of GE’s sponsor business to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in early summer, Ares Management, which had a joint venture with GE Capital through the Senior Secured Loan Program fund, landed its largest deal ever in August with the help of 30 other lenders, providing $800 million refinancing and debt write-down to Bregal Partners-backed American Seafoods. The $9.2 billion business devel-opment company plans to retain between $100 million and $200 million of the loan and to syndicate the balance, earning $8 million to $9 million in fees.

Ares also kept busy at the end of the year, striking up a new joint venture with Varagon Capital Partners as it sees increasing potential in larger syndicated lending. The senior lend-ing programme is now the firm’s new joint venture with Los Angeles-based Varagon. n


Ares: a taste of American Seafoods

››


LARGE-CAP FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. Baring Private Equity Asia2. CVC Capital Partners3. CITIC Capital Partners

Last year saw Baring Private Equity Asia close its sixth fund on its $3.98 billion hard-cap – one of the largest funds raised by an Asia-based firm – having attracted

commitments from the likes of the Illinois

Teachers’ Retire-ment System, Texas County & District Retire-ment System and

New York State Common Retire-

ment Fund.Two headline-grabbing acquisitions

from the fund included the $1.1 billion purchase of Vistra Group from IK Invest-ment Partners and global fund adminis-tration and corporate services firm Orangefield Group.

The firm, led by chief executive Jean Eric Salata (pictured above), also sold its 14 percent stake in Lafarge India back to Lafarge in a deal valued at about $303 million. As of 2015, Baring Asia, whose funds hold more than $9 billion in committed capital across more than 70 companies globally, reported private equity returns exceeding Asian public market indices by 13 percent compounded per year.

Last year the firm also received invest-ment from US-based Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), which acquired a 15 per-cent passive interest.

MID-MARKET FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. Navis Capital Partners2. MBK Partners3. Ascendent Capital Partners

The Malaysian flagship firm takes the spot for the third time despite consciously hold-ing back its pace of investment compared with previous years.

Navis Capital Partners began the year with a bang, closing its seventh fund on its $1.5 billion target. The firm went on to take a majority stake in Dometic Medical Division as part of a management buyout deal, acquire Singapore’s Imperial Treasure Restaurant Group for around S$60 million-S$80 million ($43 million-$57 million; €38 million-€50 million), and sell Singapore’s largest hazardous waste management company ECO Industrial Environmental Engineering to China’s Beijing Capital Group for S$246 million.

Navis, led by co-managing partner Nich-olas Bloy (pictured), also appointed

former Macquarie Asia private equity head Hugh Dyus in

May.Navis closed the year

on a high, exiting its investment in Thailand’s

Golden Foods Siam, gen-erating a 3.3x money return

and 24 percent IRR.

LIMITED PARTNER OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. Government of Singapore Investment Corporation

2. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan3. Government Pension

Investment Fund

GIC’s sophistication as a long-term value investor means it is often mimicked by other sovereign wealth funds in adopting a more hands-on investment attitude.

With more than 100 active fund rela-tionships and 9 percent of its $345 billion-plus total assets invested in private equity and a third of its overall portfolio invested in Asia-Pacific, as well as pursuing an active co-investment and direct strategy, GIC remains one of the most energetic and best-funded LPs in the region.

Investments last year include $85 million in cosmetics ingredients supplier Bloomage BioTechnology Corporation, $4.5 billion for a majority stake in UK roadside recovery group RAC, about $185 million for a joint venture with Canada Pension Plan Invest-ment Board to acquire D-Cube Retail Mall in Seoul, South Korea, as well as a slew of other property projects across India and China. GIC has increased its exposure to Asia from 27 percent to 30 percent, and has raised its exposure to North Asia, with the region now accounting for 15 percent of its holdings.

Heavyweight: GIC is often imitated by other sovereign wealth funds

THE PEI AWARDS 2015: ASIA


CO-INVESTOR OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. Temasek Holdings2. Canada Pension Plan Investment

Board3. Government Pension Investment

Fund

Temasek Holdings, Singapore’s state investor, has been an active investor in private equity funds for more than two decades, and 2015 was no exception. Its S$266 billion ($190 billion; €169 billion) is focused primarily in Asia, with around 10 percent of the portfolio held in third party managed funds and some shared with identified like-minded co-investors.

As well as being part of one of Asia’s largest ever private equity deals – the $6.1 billion takeover of South Korea’s Homeplus – Temasek was active across Asia, invest-ing more than $700 million in India in the first quarter alone and taking part in the $2 billion funding round for Chinese Uber competitor Didi Kuaidi.

Its president, Lee Theng Kiat, said that these co-investment platforms help Temasek to “test market interest and fine-tune (its) thinking and product positioning for eventual participation by retail inves-tors”.

EXIT OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. HKBN (CVC Capital Partners)2. Healthscope (TPG,

The Carlyle Group)3. CSPC Pharmaceutical Group

(Hony Capital)

In March, CVC Capital Partners bagged a 3.6x return on invested capital and an internal rate of return of 58 percent, cash-ing out most of its 71 percent stake, when it floated Hong Kong Broadband Network on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after just a three-year holding period.

CVC bought HKBN, which offers high-speed internet to over 1.4 million subscrib-ers in Hong Kong, from Hong Kong Tel-evision Network in May 2012 for about $628 million through CVC Asia Fund II, a 2008-vintage vehicle that closed on $4 billion. Three months later, it sold a $40 million stake to Singapore’s GIC and a $29 million stake to The Carlyle Group’s AlpInvest.

The trio sold shares after that, with CVC selling down its holding in the company from 70.7 percent to 14.4 percent, GIC selling down from 11.3 percent to 9.9 per-cent and AlpInvest selling an undisclosed stake.

DEAL OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. GE Capital (KKR, Värde Partners, Deutsche Bank)

2. Ticket Monster (KKR, Pavilion Capital Partners, Anchor Equity Partners, CPPIB)

3. Vistra Group (Baring Private Equity Asia)

In one of the region’s largest private equity deals, global investor Värde Partners, pri-vate equity group KKR and Deutsche Bank scooped up GE Capital’s Australia and New Zealand consumer lending arm, with its three million customers and established relationships with major retailers, for A$8.2 billion ($6.3 billion; €6 billion).

The consortium reportedly paid around A$1.2 billion for the equity portion, split roughly equally between the three. Through the deal they hope to securitise around A$7 billion of debt they will acquire from the GE Capital unit, which will be led by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac, according to reports. The deal slimmed down GE’s busi-ness following the 2008-09 credit crisis. The three companies were advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Moelis and Citi-group.

SECONDARIES FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. NewQuest Capital Partners2. TR Capital3. ANT Capital

Last year was the Chinese year of the sheep, yet there was nothing sheepish about Hong Kong-based NewQuest Capital Part-ners’ 12-month period. The direct second-aries firm dived headfirst into 2015, deploy-ing capital from its $326 million second vehicle, and by September had invested more than two thirds of the fund.

Well connected: CVC Capital Partners saw an IRR of 58 percent and 3.6x return from HKBN after just three years


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This is the second year in a row the pan-Asian firm has clinched this category and it’s not hard to see why: NewQuest made one of the biggest exits from its second fund with the $543 million sale of China Hydroelectric to Shenzhen Energy. On top of that, the firm launched a third secondaries vehicle and by all accounts has already raised more than half of its $500 million target.

With direct secondaries pegged to provide ample dealflow this year and with the Asian secondaries market continuing its steady rise, NewQuest seems poised to lead the flock.

SECONDARIES DEAL OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. Mizuho Financial Group (Lexington Partners)

2. StepStone3. Hutton Collins

The year had barely begun when news sur-faced of Mizuho Financial Group’s $1 billion portfolio sale to Lexington Partners. Banks around the world had been offloading private equity holdings to comply with the

Volcker Rule, the US legislation that largely prohibits US banks and foreign banks with a US presence from holding the asset class on their books.

Lexington stepped in and picked up a stellar list of stakes from the Japanese bank, including interests in 3i, The Carlyle Group, Cinven, Charterhouse Capital Partners and PAI funds, to name a few. The firm then went on to raise the biggest ever secondar-ies fund, Lexington Capital Partners VIII, closing on $10.1 billion, proving that it could absorb a huge deal and raise a mas-sive fund within the space of four months.

Mizuho is among the top 20 largest banks in the world, with assets of around $1.6 trillion in fiscal 2014.

SECONDARIES ADVISOR OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. Credit Suisse2. Greenhill Cogent3. Ark Totan Alternative

Are Asian secondaries booming? Yes, according to Credit Suisse, which saw dealflow from the region grow to around 15 percent of secondaries volume from an

average 5 percent for the group in recent years. Credit Suisse’s private fund group lev-erages its Hong Kong, Seoul and Melbourne locations to source deals, and says its abil-ity to tap its global network and banking platforms helps it identify potential sellers and buyers.

Asia-Pacific institutional investors are increasingly turning to the secondaries market to rebalance their fund portfo-lios, with Japanese and Australian pension funds and sovereign wealth funds coming to market with sizeable portfolio sales, accord-ing to Mark McDonald, head of EMEA and Asia secondary advisory at Credit Suisse.

What differentiates them? “Our team has sat on all sides of the table, as former buyers, sellers, consultants, lawyers, LPs and GPs,” McDonald said. “This gives us a unique approach when advising on a deal.”

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN AUSTRALASIA

1. Pacific Equity Partners2. Crescent Capital Partners3. Quadrant Private Equity

Australia and New Zealand’s largest private equity firm, Pacific Equity Partners, had a frenetic year during which it sold out


McDonald: hats on all sides of the table

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››Blowing in the wind: Pacific Equity Partners has been linked to windfarm operator Infigen Energy


of its almost decade-long investment in pension services business Link Group, bought into food and wellness company Manuka Health, and closed its fifth fund at just over A$2.1 billion ($1.5 billion; €1.35 billion).

Pacific Equity Partners V launched in May 2013, reached a first close on A$1.1 billion in May 2014, amassed A$1.5 billion by March 2015 and beat its hard-cap of A$2 billion in September. Other acquisitions on the domestic private equity scene include Pinnacle Bakery for A$250 million in March and Auckland-based private education com-pany Academic Colleges Group for around $530 million in September.

The firm, which manages more than A$6 billion in assets, has also been linked to investments in Australia’s renewable energy sector, including Pacific Hydro and wind-farm owner and operator Infigen Energy.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN CHINA

1. KKR2. CDIB Capital International3. Hony Capital

While private equity investing soared in China in 2014, persistently high valuations, fierce competition from corporate buyers and wariness about volatility somewhat dampened deal activity in 2015.

Global private equity giant KKR, however, saw that China remains rife with opportunity, especially in the agribusiness sector.

The firm’s $1 billion China Growth Fund, which was initially designed in 2011 to invest between $30 million and $75 mil-lion in exchange for minority stakes, pur-chased a significant stake in aquatic feed company Yuehai Feed Group Company for about $100 million.

This is KKR’s fifth food and agriculture-related investment in China, having invested in China Modern Dairy Holdings, Asia Dairy,

COFCO Meat, and poultry processing com-pany Fujian Sunner Development, which shows the firm’s strong commitment for a safer and more secure food supply in China.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN JAPAN

1. J-STAR2. Carlyle Group3. Advantage Partners

J-STAR continues to hold onto its number one spot in Private Equity International’s firm of the year category in Japan. The Tokyo-based firm has had another busy year making three acquisitions in under six months from its J-STAR No. 2 Investment Limited Partnership, a 2012-vintage, ¥ 20 billion ($162 million; €149 million) vehicle.

Entering one of the world’s most robust and stable insurance sectors, J-STAR acquired insurer Nihon Hoken Service in May and completed an add-on acquisition of industry peer Sokisha Corporation only a few months later. The deals are part of a broader plan to embark on the consolidation of Japan’s insurance sector, which is already dominated by a handful of huge players.

The small-cap firm’s third investment was in December, acquiring energy saving solutions provider ESCO – a deal timely enough as Japan deregulates its retail elec-tricity market in 2016.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN KOREA

1. MBK Partners2. Anchor Equity Partners3. Hahn & Company

Seoul-based MBK Partners has had a remarkable rise in the last decade from a start-up to the largest private equity firm in North Asia with more than $8 billion under management.

MBK sealed the largest M&A transac-tion in Korea and the largest buyout in the Asia-Pacific region in 2015 when the firm, together with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Temasek Holdings acquired Tesco’s South Korean unit Home-plus from its UK parent company for a whopping $6.3 billion, seeing off rival bid-ders including buyout firms Affinity Equity Partners, KKR and Carlyle Group.

In November, a consortium including MBK and Goldman Sachs sold a 51 per cent stake in Japanese theme park Universal Studio Japan to ComCast’s NBC Universal – a deal that raised the company’s value to about $6 billion.

In June the firm invested in China-based logistics company Apex Interna-tional Corporation, and shortly after sold Taiwan-based cable TV provider China

Tasty: KKR invested in China’s food supply chain

Star playrers: J-STAR's Gregory Hara, chief executive, and Kenichi Harada, founding partner


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Network Systems to Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and Far Eastone Tel-ecommunications for $2.3 billion, marking a profitable exit for the firm.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN INDIA

1. Everstone Capital Partners2. Accel Partners3. Tata Capital

Backed by a stronger macroeconomic land-scape, rising optimism and improved exit environment in India, Everstone Capital Partners mirrored the country’s growth story in 2015 as it continued to see a landscape ripe with opportunities.

A winner for the fifth consecutive year, Everstone, co-founded by Sameer Sain (pic-tured), closed its third fund on its impres-sive $730 million hard-cap in September, the largest India-dedicated private equity fund last year.

On the transaction front, Everstone made two acquisitions, picking up the Asia Pacific payroll business of AON Hewitt

(now rebranded as Excelity Global) and Hindustan Unilever’s bread and bakery business Modern Bakery.

The firm exited its eight-year invest-ment in Global Hospitals with its sale to Malaysia’s Parkway Hospitals, generating a 3x return on investment, and before the year ended re-invested in New Delhi-based publisher S Chand, paving the way for the company’s IPO plans.

Everstone also boosted its investment team, hiring Walt Disney executive Roshini Bakshi and Unilever’s Rajev Shukla as man-aging directors, and Citibank executive Bhavna Thakur as head of capital markets and exits.

FIRM OF THE YEAR IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

1. Aberdeen Asset Management2. Navis Capital3. Creador

This is Aberdeen Asset Management’s first win as firm of the year in South-East Asia. It was a year when Aberdeen flexed

its muscles in the region, acquiring FLAG Capital Management to

expand its alternatives platform. Combined with the acquisition of US hedge fund group Arden Asset Management in August

last year, the group has now more than doubled total alterna-

tive assets under management to $30 billion under global head of alternatives Andrew McCaffery.

In October, Aberdeen held a final close of Flag Private Equity VI on $295 million, $70 million above its initial target.

Through its acquisition of FLAG, which bought Asia-focused fund of funds business Squadron Capital in 2012, the UK-based firm has become a regional player with a presence in 14 Asian markets, and 2016 looks set to be an exciting year in the region for the firm.

FRONTIER MARKET FIRM OF THE YEAR

IN ASIA

1. Dragon Capital2. Mekong Capital3. VinaCapital

Vietnam’s Dragon Capital has been investing across Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines and Sri Lanka for almost two decades. Its Mekong Brahmapu-tra Clean Development Fund I, a 2010-vin-tage vehicle, is almost fully deployed, having made new investments last year in solar photovoltaic, small hydro and solid waste management companies.

The firm, which has assets under man-agement of around $1.4 billion, plans to market a second clean development fund in early 2016, targeting $100 million to invest in sustainable development in low carbon business growth opportunities.

In October, the Ho Chih Minh-based firm, which also has offices in Hanoi, Bang-kok, Hong Kong and the UK, teamed up with Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam to sponsor and launch the Vietnam Fintech Club, which aims to support the country's fintech sector.


IN ASIA

1. Aberdeen Asset Management2. LGT Capital Partners3. Asia Alternatives

In a series of transformational acquisitions, including of FLAG Squadron Asia completed this year and SVG’s Asia businesses, global fund of funds investor Aberdeen Asset Management, led in Asia by Myron Zhu (pictured), has consolidated its position as a standout player in the regional market.

The build-up of its Asian fund of fund’s business from its headquarters in Singapore


Action plan: in November, a consortium including MBK Partners sold a 51 percent stake in the Universal Studio Japan theme park

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and six other invest-ment centres across the region means the firm has one of the broadest pri-vate equity port-

folios in Asia with more than 60 GP rela-

tionships. Its investments span venture capital to buyouts, and small to large-cap.

Asian clients make up 7 percent of the global group’s total assets under manage-ment of £284 billion ($415 billion; €370 million) at the end of September, according to its 2015 annual report. This is set to grow as it recently obtained a licence to operate in China where it plans to expand its Shanghai representative office with additional research and business develop-ment staff.

DISTRESSED/SPECIAL SITUATIONS FIRM

OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. SSG Capital Management2. PAG3. Shoreline Capital

SSG Capital Management’s dominance in the Asian distressed debt market contin-ued in 2015, supported by its track record in special situation funds.

The pan-Asian asset manager has raised three special situation funds to date. Special Situations Fund III closed at $915 million in 2014 and returns are tracking above 20 per-cent without the use of leverage at fund level.

“Banks are capital constrained and have enough troubled assets on their books. They are looking to find homes for them. So that’s another good source for us. Usually when times are good, banks are less willing to let go of these assets,” says Edwin Wong, SSG’s man-aging partner and chief investment officer.

Looking forward to 2016, he envisages even brighter prospects for distressed

lending in Asia on the back of public market falls and volatility.

PLACEMENT AGENT OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

1. Eaton Partners2. UBS Private Funds Group3. Mercury Capital Advisors

Last year was not an easy one for Asia fundraisings and Eaton Partners had to beat tough competition from its peers to jump from third place to the 2015 top spot. Among its achievements it helped Hong Kong-based ADV Partners close its first-time fund on $545 million, smashing its initial target of $500 million and making it the largest Asian debut last year.

In total, the firm guided five Asia manag-ers to close fundraisings totalling an impres-sive $3.2 billion. Its focus was not limited to primary deals and the firm advised on more than $300 million of completed secondaries transactions.

From its offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, it advised a diverse group of clients such as buyout giant CDIB Capi-tal International, fund of funds manager Asia Alternatives, and Chinese/US growth capital firm WestSummit Capital. An active promoter of the industry in Asia, the firm jointly organised the Limited Partners’ Association of China’s 2015 GP Summit.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIA

(FUND FORMATION)

1. King & Wood Mallesons2. Debevoise & Plimpton3. Dechert

With its unique platform across China, Aus-tralia and Singapore, the King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) team acts for a large share of local and regional sponsor clients across Asia. The firm made an impressive

showing with its work on China-focused vehicles, and was especially active in the TMT and pharmaceutical industries, including its work with TVM Capital Life Science on the first closing of its China BioPharma Capital Fund, raising more than $50 million in commitments. Dongfang Zhike, owned by Citi Orient Securities Co., also turned to KWM when establish-ing an investment fund with Guohua Life Insurance.

The firm also displayed the breadth of its knowledge across the private asset classes advising AMP Capital on several Indian infrastructure funds and Ascendas on its Australian hotel investments and the Ascendas Hospitality Trust IPO.

LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR IN ASIA (TRANSACTIONS)

1. Clifford Chance2. Kirkland & Ellis3. Dechert

Clifford Chance is no stranger to taking the top spot in this category, and with one look at its extensive activity in the region for 2015, it’s clear to see why. The firm continued working with some of the biggest private equity players in the region on some of the most com-plicated deals.

When CVC Asia Pacific acquired 15 percent of the share capital of Rizal Com-mercial Banking, listed in the Philippines, for $115 million, the firm called on Clif-ford Chance. The Magic Circle firm also worked on multiple deals for The Carlyle Group, such as its acquisition of an indirect 36.8 percent stake from funds controlled by General Electric Company in Hong Kong and its joint venture with Huo’s Group to buy Shell’s 75 percent stake in Tongyi Lubricants. n


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