In this edition, we look at cash distributions from Asia for corporate private equity funds in the third quarter and fundraising outlook in 2026 and beyond, and examine how ChrysCapital’s $2.2-billion tenth fund highlights India’s long-term PE story and rising domestic investor confidence.
PE giants to close 2025 with mega exits
After years of subdued activity amid rising interest rates, Asia’s largest private equity funds are closing out 2025 with a flurry of blockbuster exits, setting the stage for a new wave of mega fundraising.
KKR co-CEO Joe Bae credited regional stock markets for unlocking liquidity. “This year is going to be our big year for Asia liquidity, given the stock markets in this part of the world,” Bae said at the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit hosted by the HKMA. He added that Asia is expected to contribute “half of our global distributions in private equity,” underscoring the region’s accelerating capital market development.
KKR’s recent exits include:
- A $1.4-billion sale of JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals to Torrent Pharma, valuing the Indian healthcare firm at over $2.9 billion
- A partial divestment in HD Hyundai Marine Solution, whose shares are up 27% since its 2024 IPO
- A $2.55 billion sale of the Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu to Trial Holdings
These distributions are expected to support fundraising for KKR Asia V.
With Wall Street’s largest PE firms returning to market with overlapping Asia strategies, competition for fresh capital is intensifying. Global allocators are consolidating relationships and, in some cases, scaling back exposure to corporate private equity—raising the bar for performance and liquidity.
TPG is also preparing to raise capital for its ninth Asia flagship fund and fourth Rise fund, both slated to launch in 2026. The firm reported $230 million in distributable earnings for Q3, including $30 million in realised performance allocations from exits such as:
- Sai Life Sciences, up nearly 70% since its December IPO in India
- Korean cosmetics packaging firm Samhwa, which was sold to KKR less than two years after the initial investment
Samhwa marks the first exit from TPG’s $5.3-billion eighth Asia fund, which has deployed 58.5% of capital and delivered $471 million in realised value, generating a 1.3x net MoM. TPG Asia IX and Rise IV will join its new mid-market Asia-Pacific fund, which has raised $555 million to date.
Easing crowded market
But the fundraising field could thin next year as EQT and Blackstone near final closes.
EQT expects to wrap its $14.5-billion Asia flagship in early 2026, backed by strong regional distributions—Asia accounted for 29% of its €19 billion ($22 billion) in exits over the past year. Recent divestments include Nord Anglia Education from BPEA VI, Nexon Asia Pacific, TELUS Digital, Pioneer Corporation, and Horizon Robotics. EQT BPEA VII posted a 2.7x MoIC, while its eighth Asia fund delivered 1.3x.
Blackstone’s third pan-Asia buyout fund has raised $9 billion in Q3 and is expected to “meaningfully exceed” its $10 billion target, according to its president, Jon Gray, during the firm’s latest earnings call. Its second Asia fund reported a 113% realised net IRR and 3.7x MoIC, with $4.2 billion in dry powder remaining in the same period.
Earlier this year, Blackstone sold its 25% stake in Indian packaging firm EPL for $220 million.
Carlyle, Bain stay active
Carlyle, while silent on fundraising progress for its Asia flagship in last Friday’s earnings, booked $2.3 billion in realised proceeds from regional exits in Q3. These included India’s Yes Bank from its fifth Asia fund and Orion Breweries, a Japanese beermaker sold as part of the September IPO in Tokyo from its third Japan fund. The 2013-vintage vehicle for the country delivered a 3.3x realised MoIC and 26% gross IRR within the same period.
Bain Capital also made headlines in September with a full exit from China’s WinTrix DC Group in a $4 billion transaction in what could accelerate the progress of its fundraising for its sixth pan-Asian fund, which Mergermarket reported to target $7 billion.
This year, CVC has made divestments from Ngern Tid Lor and ProChiz’s parent company in Southeast Asia after selling stakes in India’s Gujarat Titans and OANDA from its fourth Asia fund. The group’s Global Head of Client & Product Solutions, Rob Squire, however, said in September that it will only launch the next Asia flagship fund in 2027.
Outlook
Despite some firms pulling back from the region in the past years, another PE powerhouse remains bullish on what the future holds. “Many of our peers have kind of pulled away, both from China and from Asia. But I think it’s going to continue to be an interesting opportunity,” said Jeff Perlman, CEO of Warburg Pincus, which just opened its Tokyo office on Thursday.
“Take a market like India—the flywheel is working so well between the public market, both new issuance, the ability to sell down, the interest level from strategics, and obviously more private equity capital going in,” Perlman added. “You can invest in more control now than you could five or ten years ago. That’s why I think India is going to continue to draw a lot of capital.”
ChrysCap’s mega fund shows why India still defies global PE gloom
In a world where capital flows have turned cautious, India continues to defy the trend.
Homegrown private equity giant, ChrysCapital, has raised a record-breaking $2.2 billion for its tenth fund – more than just a headline number. It’s a sign that LPs, still flush with capital, are ready to back markets and managers they believe in.
What stands out is not just the size of ChrysCapital X, but also the profile of its investors. For the first time, the fund has seen meaningful participation from domestic LPs, reflecting how India’s own capital base is deepening and becoming more confident about backing homegrown managers.
“When you look at India, the businesses Indian founders are building are exceptional. The number of IPOs and control deals is significant, creating real liquidity for entrepreneurs,” Gaurav Ahuja, Partner at ChrysCapital, told DealStreetAsia.
“More families are establishing professionally managed family offices, creating new avenues for wealth and diversification. These trends led us to raise capital from India. Like any business, we seek a diversified investor base, and including India is part of our broader strategy,” he added.
While the majority of the corpus still came from foreign LPs, roughly 15% of the fund was raised from institutional investors and professionally managed family offices in India, a milestone that underscores the rise of local wealth and a growing appetite for alternative assets among India’s financial elite.
“Going forward, we expect a bigger share of our capital to come from domestic LPs,” said Ahuja.
The 60% jump in corpus from its previous $1.35 billion Fund IX, which closed in 2022, and the fact that it surpassed Kedaara Capital’s $1.7 billion fund last year, underline the strong conviction investors have in India’s long-term growth story.
This also highlights a broader trend – LPs are increasingly gravitating towards PE fund managers with long track records, disciplined exits, and experience navigating economic cycles.
In uncertain times, experience becomes its own currency, and investors are rewarding steadiness over flash.
That sentiment perhaps explains why fundraising started slow this year. In the first half of 2025, capital raised by PE-VC investors fell more than 30% year-on-year, weighed down by global macroeconomic headwinds, sticky inflation, and geopolitical tensions — from ongoing wars to trade disputes involving the US. These crosswinds have made LPs globally more selective and cautious.
And yet, India stands apart. Even as fundraising slows elsewhere, the country continues to attract long-term capital on the back of its economic fundamentals, policy stability, and deepening entrepreneurial ecosystem. The confidence hasn’t vanished; it’s simply become more discerning.
Top PE developments
Secondaries
State Street has taken a minority stake in Coller Capital as it seeks to expand its private-markets and secondaries presence.
In Asia, a team of former Blackstone and Partners Group executives raised $1.1 billion to buy secondhand stakes in real estate investments, as Khazanah is nearing the close of its LP-led sale process of nearly $1 billion.
Deals
After years of muted sentiment, China is making a strong comeback this week with Boyu Capital buying up to 60% stake in Starbucks China in a $4 billion deal, becoming one of the largest private equity deals in the economy this year.
In India, SaaS startup MoEngage raised $100 million in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs and A91 Partners, confirming an earlier report by DealStreetAsia.
KKR and SingTel are in advanced talks to buy more than 80% of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres for over S$5 billion ($3.9 billion), Reuters reported.
Fundraising
In Southeast Asia, CapitaLand was another property investor to close its new fund above target at $650 million, while Thailand’s Lakeshore has soft-circled around $300 million for its latest fund ahead of its launch.
