<article>Bert Kwan, a former managing director at Singapore-headquartered private equity (PE) firm Northstar Group, is set to establish a new investment platform in partnership with BDA Partners, according to industry executives aware of the development.
In his new role, Kwan will build and manage a new PE arm for the Asia-focused mid-market cross-border M&amp;A advisory firm.</article>

Bert Kwan, a former managing director at Singapore-headquartered private equity (PE) firm Northstar Group, is set to establish a new investment platform in partnership with BDA Partners, according to industry executives aware of the development.
In his new role, Kwan will build and manage a new PE arm for the Asia-focused mid-market cross-border M&amp;A advisory firm.
The new PE entity &#8211; BDA Capital Partners &#8211; will focus on growth equity investments in Vietnam and potentially elsewhere in Southeast Asia, with ticket sizes in the $10-20 million range, industry sources said.
The development comes as Northstar Group is on the road to raise about $800 million for its fifth fund. Its co-founder and managing partner Patrick Walujo recently told DealStreetAsia that the firm was expecting to hit the first close of its fifth fund at up to $400 million in the first half of 2020.
It is learnt that Kwan will also continue to help manage Northstar’s portfolio in Vietnam for a period of time.
When contacted, Kwan confirmed the development. &#8220;I am indeed excited to establish a private equity investment platform with the highly experienced team at BDA Partners, who have been leading seminal M&amp;A transactions and developing relationships with entrepreneurs and investors in the region for 25 years,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;BDA Capital Partners will be in a position to benefit from that experience and those relationships. In terms of our investment mandate, we have identified a segment of the private equity market where our investment experience dovetails with where we see particular demand for growth capital. I look forward to continuing to work closely with entrepreneurs in Vietnam and beyond.”
After joining Northstar in 2017, Kwan led a number of deals in Vietnam for the PE firm, including e-commerce major Tiki, office space solutions provider UPGen and online education company Topica Edtech.
Prior to joining Northstar, Kwan was the head of Southeast Asia for Standard Chartered Private Equity (now known as Affirma Capital following a management buyout in 2019), where he spearheaded SCPE’s entry into Vietnam with investments in Golden Gate Group, NKid, Momo, and Loc Troi Group.
BDA Capital Partners, which is learnt to be engaged in due diligence on a set of Vietnam deals, may consider a third-party fund in the future. For now, it plans to work with a base of existing investor relationships to fund the early deal flow, we have learnt.
BDA Capital Partners will be managed separately from BDA Partners’s core advisory business and will entirely be focused on its private equity investment mandate.
According to an industry executive who declined to be named, BDA Partners typically advises on much larger transactions than those that its newly set up PE arm will pursue. BDA Capital Partners will benefit from some synergies as its parent company has resources in all the geographies that it is looking at, this executive added.

Bert Kwan leaves Northstar Group to set up PE arm for BDA Partners

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Bert Kwan leaves Northstar Group to set up PE arm for BDA Partners

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