As global investors gathered in Singapore’s bars and ballrooms for a series of conferences and annual general meetings this month, Northstar was raised as an exemplar of Asia’s steep challenges. At a time when private equity players in the region should be thriving amid the perceived decline of US exceptionalism, they are instead weathering one of the harshest capital winters in recent memory, as investors remain on the sidelines — India and Japan standing out as rare exceptions.
For over 20 years Indonesian private equity firm Northstar Group was emblematic of Southeast Asia’s boom. Backed by TPG Capital, it raised more than US$2.7 billion ($3.47 billion) with a pledge to invest in the region’s best firms.
But this year, between the country’s faltering outlook and a scandal that sank a flagship investment, its founders struggled to continue. By June it sold key funds to US investment firm Ares Management Corp for just US$6 million, according to documents seen by Bloomberg News and people familiar with the matter. A representative for the firms couldn’t immediately comment.
