Taiwan’s China Life Insurance commits $50m to StepStone, Insight Partners

Taipei City, Taiwan. Photo by Tom Ritson on Unsplash

By Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.

December 19, 2019

Taiwan-based China Life Insurance Company has approved a total of $50 million in commitment to the funds managed by private equity firms StepStone and Insight Partners, adding to the more than $100 million that the life insurance firm has committed so far this year.

In separate disclosures, China Life said it has committed to invest $30 million in Insight Partners XI LP and another $20 million in StepStone Secondary Opportunities Fund IV. Early this year, the insurance firm committed $20 million each to TA XII, Blackstone Capital Partners VIII, and Strategic Partners Fund VIII.

It also approved a $30-million commitment to French Private Equity firm Ardian’s latest buyout fund and another $25 million into Veritas Capital’s seventh fund.

Insight Partners XI invests in software, enabled services, and Internet businesses, primarily in the US and Europe.

New York-based Insight Partners has set out to raise $7.5 billion for its 11th flagship vehicle, which will invest between $10 million and $150 million in target companies. The latest vehicle followed the close of the firm’s 10th fund in 2018 with a $6.3-billion commitment.

It has so far received commitments from institutional investors and pension funds, including $150 million from Texas Teacher Retirement System, $75 million from Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System, and $200 million from Washington State Investment Board.

Insight Partners has so far made nearly 400 investments and 96 exits. The firm’s most notable exits include Twitter, Delivery Hero, and Shopify.

On the other hand, China Life Insurance said it has committed $20 million to StepStone Secondary Opportunities Fund IV, the latest vehicle of US-based global private markets firm StepStone.

China Life Insurance said the $20-million commitment amounts to 1.2 per cent of the total target corpus of StepStone’s Fund IV, which further confirms reports that the firm is raising at least $1 billion for its latest vehicle.

Its first fund – Green Park International Investors – raised $200 million in 2003. This was followed by StepStone Secondary Opportunities Fund II, which raised $450 million. Fund II, according to Crunchbase data, only raised $93.9 million.

Early this week, StepStone and Australian superannuation fund HESTA acquired part of Blackbird Ventures’s first fund for A$100 million ($69 million) through a GP-led secondary transaction. Blackbird Ventures is an Australian venture capital firm.

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Taiwan’s China Life Insurance commits $30m to Ardian’s seventh buyout fund

Earlier this month, the insurer agreed to commit $25 million into Veritas Capital's seventh fund.

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Taiwan’s China Life Insurance commits $20m to Blackstone’s secondary vehicle

China Life is an existing LP in the fund's predecssor, Strategic Partners Fund VII, to which it had committed $10 million.

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In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
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