HONG KONG (July 3): China's Centurium Capital, a big backer of domestic startup Luckin Coffee, said it has raised more than US$2 billion ($2.7 billion) in its debut fund, giving the private equity firm more firepower to cut deals involving the world's second-largest economy.
The firm, co-founded by the former head of Warburg Pincus Asia Pacific, David Li, said in a statement on Wednesday that Centurium Capital Partners 2018 LP raised the sum in US dollars.
The fund secured strong interest from global investors, known as limited partners (LPs), such as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and funds-of-funds, it said.
Investors in the fund include Singapore's GIC and Temasek Holdings, Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, China Investment Corp (CIC) and US pension fund Washington State Investment Board, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Centurium declined to comment on the fund's LPs. All the investors didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The US dollar fund will help Centurium invest in Chinese firms that use overseas structures such as variable-interest entities.
Centurium joins several China-focused private equity and venture capital managers who raised US$17.3 billion in dollar-denominated funds in the first half of the year, versus US$13 billion over the same period last year, according to data provider Preqin.
Launched in March 2018, Centurium's maiden fund reached the first close of nearly US$1 billion three months later and has beaten the US$1.5 billion and US$1.98 billion fundraising targets since then.
