Auster Capital, an independent private equity firm with a global mandate to pursue cross-border acquisitions, has held the first close of Auster Fund I in excess of USD500 million. Support has been received from a variety of investors including sovereign wealth funds, prominent financial institutions, industrial corporations and family offices. The Fund has a target size of USD1 billion.
Auster Capital was founded by Jennifer Yu, who was previously the Chairperson of Rothschild & Co Global Advisory in Greater China for 16 years where she led the creation of successful partnerships between Chinese and international businesses, including landmark Chinese-European investments such as Geely’s acquisition of Volvo Car, ChemChina’s acquisition of Pirelli, Dongfeng Motor’s investment in PSA, and JIC’s acquisition of SGD Pharma. Rothschild & Co – through its Merchant Banking business – owns 30% of the Auster GP, alongside Jennifer Yu as the controlling shareholder.
“We very much appreciate the support from our Chinese and international limited partners especially at this difficult time. This demonstrates their belief in cross-border business opportunities between China and especially Europe, and their trust in our ability to help companies create value by gaining access to the Chinese market for revenue, talent or innovation purposes”, says Jennifer Yu, Founding Partner and Chairperson of Auster Capital. “Having worked at Rothschild & Co for so many years, I am very excited to have the firm as a partner in this initiative.”
With a core focus in the industrial manufacturing, consumer and healthcare sectors, Auster’s investment strategy is to invest in European businesses that either (i) plan to benefit from Chinese growth potential, or (ii) expect to be part of inbound or outbound Chinese M&A. The Fund will partner with other private equity sponsors or strategics with value-adding skill sets, and have a flexible approach with the ability to make both majority and minority investments.
Auster intends to target equity tickets of USD50 million to USD200 million with the ability to commit larger amounts in conjunction with the Fund’s limited partners. The Auster team is located across three offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong and London.
Marc-Oliver Laurent, Managing Partner of Rothschild & Co and Executive Chairman of Rothschild & Co’s Merchant Banking business, says: “We are delighted to partner with Auster which has a strategy to unlock the full potential of European businesses with respect to their growth and expansion plans into China. Having built our own successful Merchant Banking business in Europe and the US, we believe there is great synergy between our investment franchise and Auster.”
