Singapore-based emerging market private equity (PE) firm Affirma Capital has made the first close of its sixth Korea buyout fund at $370 million (KRW 500 billion), according to a company announcement.
The fund, Ascenta VI, has secured commitments from major institutions, such as the Korea Development Bank and the Korean Teachers’ Credit Union, and is expected to engage with international limited partners in the latter half of this year.
Affirma aims to raise $520 million for the sixth fund by the end of 2024.
The PE firm closed its fifth Korea fund, Ascenta V, at $473 million in October 2021. That was the PE firm’s first fundraising following its spin-off from Standard Chartered in August 2019.
Affirma Capital was formed in July 2019 via a spinoff of Standard Chartered Private Equity from Standard Chartered Group. The transaction involved a management buyout (MBO) valuing the bank’s PE portfolio at $1 billion.
Ascenta V’s mandate is to mainly deploy in Korea, with allocations to China, India, and Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam.
The first investment out of Ascenta V was a $181-million pre-IPO funding round in South Korea’s T Map Mobility, a mobility business unit that recently spun off from the telecommunications operator SK Telecom.
Affirma oversees over $3.1 billion in assets and invests in buyouts and growth opportunities across emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, per its website.
It focuses on financial services, healthcare, and consumer sectors. The firm has regional offices in Johannesburg, Dubai, Mumbai, Shanghai and Seoul.
“Our commitment to mid-market growth and strategic buyouts, underscored by our robust adherence to ESG principles, continues to define our market presence,” said Taeyub Kim, founder partner and head of Affirma Capital Korea.
Affirma’s portfolio companies include Asian mobility operator startup Beam Mobility; Singaporean pre-school chain Paddington Enterprise; Vietnamese recruitment classifieds platform Sieu Viet; Indian B2B travel tech firm Tek Travels; and Chinese agriculture products trading platform COFCO International.
In the first quarter of this year alone, the PE firm said it achieved a 9.4x MOIC from its partial exit in Tek Travels of India and an 8.1x MOIC from APR of Korea.
