New Delhi, April 21 -- Swedish buyout firm EQT, which acquired Baring Private Equity Asia in 2022, has hit the final close of its new Asia-focussed PE fund after amassing a record amount of $15.6 billion.

The new vehicle, BPEA Private Equity Fund IX, reached its hard cap with $14.9 billion in fee-generating assets under management and was oversubscribed on the back of a strong demand from a globally diversified investor base, the PE firm said in a release. The 'hard cap' refers to the upper limit of the amount of investor commitments accepted.

This is the region's largest private equity fund, EQT said. The fund received commitments from both existing and new limited partners, with more than 75 new investors joining the fund. Pension funds and sovereign wealth funds were among the largest contributors, with capital commitments broadly balanced across the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific.

"The closing of BPEA IX is a defining milestone that reflects the depth, strength, and investment performance of our platform over nearly three decades, bringing together the history of BPEA and EQT in Asia," said Jean Eric Salata, Chairperson of EQT Asia. "In a highly competitive and selective fundraising market, our ability to deliver consistent realisations was a differentiator for our investors," Salata added.

EQT had rolled out the fund in 2024 with a target of $12.5 billion and activated it on March 1, 2025. The fund is bigger than the BPEA VIII vehicle that collected $11.2 billion. VCCircle reported earlier this year that EQT secured about $14 billion in commitments for the fund and was nearing its hard cap.

The fund will focus on control investments in sectors such as technology, healthcare, industrial technology, services, and tech-enabled services. It aims to back companies benefiting from structural growth trends while driving operational improvements to scale businesses over the long term.

EQT said that it has so far invested 5-10% of BPEA IX. The new fund has made at least two investments so far. In November last year, EQT said it would invest about $930 million into Douzone Bizon, a provider of enterprise resource planning and business software solutions in South Korea. In July, the fund made a $2.7 billion tender offer to privatize Japanese elevator and escalator maker Fujitec Co.

EQT's Asia platform, which dates back to 1997, has deployed about $30 billion across more than 160 transactions. Its current portfolio includes around 65 companies across 10 countries, employing over 270,000 people.

"The opportunity in Asia today has shifted from chasing growth to leading profound structural transformation. As the region evolves - redefining global supply chains and scaling digital champions - it has created a more complex investment landscape. In this environment, where performance is defined by earnings growth and active ownership, our value-creation capabilities are clear differentiators," said Hari Gopalakrishnan and Nicholas Macksey, deputy co-heads of private capital Asia at EQT.

EQT had acquired BPEA in March 2022 for 6.8 billion euros (close to $7.5 billion). At the time, BPEA had 17.7 billion euros in assets under management. The acquisition enhanced EQT's Asia presence, providing it access to structural growth opportunities in Asian private markets. It later renamed BPEA as EQT Private Capital Asia.

The PE firm has stepped up its activities in India over the past two-three years and struck several large deals.

It acquired a controlling stake in GeBBS Healthcare Solutions from Indian PE firm ChrysCapital in September 2024. In 2023, the PE firm bought a majority stake in digital engineering company Indium Software, acquired Indira IVF and teamed up with ChrysCapital to purchase education finance company Credila from HDFC. The PE firm has invested more than its target of $5 billion in India over the past few years, its head of Asian business said in December 2024.

EQT has also harvested big sums from a few India bets. It signed off with $2.2 billion from IT services firm Coforge and wrapped up its over $500 million exit from CMS Info Systems in 2023. In December 2024, EQT and Singapore state investment firm Temasek sold their Indian green energy platform O2 Power to JSW Neo Energy Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of JSW Energy Ltd, for an enterprise value of $1.47 billion (Rs 12,468 crore).

Last year, EQT scored high returns from IT firm Sagility. The PE firm is also gearing up to take two portfolio companies public-education lender Credila and fertility chain Indira IVF.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.