Warburg Pincus has closed Warburg Pincus Private Equity XI (WP XI), a USD11.2bn global fund.
This new fund is one of the largest private equity funds raised post the global financial crisis. WP XI, like Warburg Pincus’ prior funds, will invest in growth companies in the firm’s key industry sectors across the globe.
"We are pleased to announce our final close," says Charles R Kaye, co-president of Warburg Pincus. "This successful fundraise, in a challenging environment, was driven by strong support from both existing and new investors. We see this success as a clear endorsement by our investors of our global growth investing model."
WP XI’s limited partners include public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and wealthy individuals. A significant number of the new investors in the fund are from outside of the US. The firm held the final close of the fund within one year of the first close, as planned.
WP XI will continue to pursue a strategy the firm has followed for more than 40 years – partnering with management teams to build world-class companies. Growth is always a core aspect of Warburg Pincus’ investment thesis. The firm invests in businesses at all stages of development from start-ups and growth capital to special situations and buyouts. The firm invests globally with a focus on five key industry sectors: energy, financial services, healthcare, technology, media and telecommunications (TMT), and consumer, industrial and services (CIS).
The final close of WP XI follows a very active 2012 in which the firm invested over USD2.3bn in 28 new companies and made follow-on investments into several existing companies. Several of these new investments were made by WP XI including Venari Resources, a start-up company focused on deepwater exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico; China Auto Rental, a car rental company in China; and InComm, a global prepaid product, services and transaction technologies company.
The firm has also been active in distributing capital back to investors in prior funds. Warburg Pincus’ funds distributed USD6.2bn to investors in 2012 and another USD3bn in the first quarter of 2013.
"Our strong track record and continuing ability to both make and exit investments that generate attractive rates of return, regardless of economic cycle, is a testament to the firm’s focus on building durable businesses that deliver value over the long-term," says Joseph P Landy, co-president of Warburg Pincus.
