International private equity firm Warburg Pincus has announced the closing of Warburg Pincus Private Equity X, a USD15bn global fund that will invested in early-stage, growth and late-stag
International private equity firm Warburg Pincus has announced the closing of Warburg Pincus Private Equity X, a USD15bn global fund that will invested in early-stage, growth and late-stage businesses in North America, Europe and Asia. The fundraising comfortably beat the firm’s initial target of USD12bn.
‘We are gratified that limited partners continue to be attracted to our unique model – to invest across domains, geography and across company stage of life out of a single, global fund,’ says Warburg Pincus co-president Joseph P. Landy. ‘Our time-tested approach of growth investing in growth-oriented regions is a particularly attractive investment strategy in the current environment.’
Over the past 30 years, Warburg Pincus has established a strong local presence around the world and developed domain expertise in sectors including consumer and retail, energy, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, industrial and technology, media and telecommunications.
The firm, which made its first international investment in 1983 and opened offices in London in 1987 and Hong Kong in 1994, has been an active investor in emerging markets including China, India and Central and Eastern Europe. Currently, more than 40 percent of Warburg Pincus’ investments and professionals are outside the US.
‘We’ve always viewed our mission as being investors, as opposed to asset managers,’ says co-president Charles R. Kaye. ‘Our ability to generate superior rates of return has always been a function of our willingness to search for a market discontinuity, whether it be technology driven, or propelled by an economic dislocation or an entirely new business opportunity. Our fundamental goal is to build businesses that deliver sustainable value over the long term.’
Returning investors in Warburg Pincus Private Equity X include public and private pension funds, endowments and financial institutions including the Washington State Investment Board and GE Asset Management. The fund also attracted first-time investors including the Universities Superannuation Scheme and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
‘We are pleased to be participating in WP X, as it extends our long and successful relationship with the firm,’ says Joseph A. Dear, executive director of the Washington State Investment Board.
‘A handful of firms have consistently delivered superior returns to our retirement assets – and Warburg Pincus is one of them. As a result, we committed to invest in WP X because we’re comfortable with the firm’s proven ability to deploy the right people with the right experience to each portfolio company investment. The firm is well positioned to perform, particularly in light of today’s turbulent market conditions.’
Since its establishment in 1971, Warburg Pincus has raised 12 private equity funds that have invested more than USD29bn in around 600 companies in more than 30 countries, and currently has an active portfolio of more than 100 companies. The firm has more than USD35bn in assets and some 160 professionals at offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo.
