CLSA Capital Partners launches Korea PE fund

CLSA Capital Partners has hard-closed the Nexen Global Co-Investment Fund, its first private equity fund to be based in Korea, after reaching its target of W300 billion ($295 million).

The alternative asset management arm of brokerage and investment group CLSA formed the fund with Nexen and Nexen Tire, Korean companies in the tyre and tyre components business.

CLSA CP expects the average size of investments to be between $50 million and $100 million; they will be into overseas assets related to Nexen’s core tyre business and automotive supplies.

The fund’s primary investor is the National Pension Service (NPS) of Korea, the world’s fourth largest retirement fund with some $400 billion in assets under management. CLSA CP declined to reveal the size of its investment, and NPS did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

The fund was established under NPS’s corporate partnership programme, which is designed to help Korean companies expand internationally.

As co-general partner with Korea’s Calix Investment, CLSA CP will assist in the sourcing, execution and integration of investment opportunities within Nexen’s overseas strategic mandate.

CLSA CP, which manages assets of $2.6 billion, opened Seoul-based CLSA Capital Partners Korea last year. The business also has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.

Other funds it manages include Aria Investment Partners, a group of pan-Asian PE funds providing growth and expansion capital to Asian mid-market companies; Fudo Capital, which covers pan-Asian real estate investment funds; Sunrise Capital, a dedicated Japanese PE fund; and the Clean Resources Asia Growth Fund, a pan-Asian clean resources, PE growth capital fund.

The firm also manages Pacific Transportation, a pan-Asian shipping and logistics PE fund.