Aureos plans $250m South-East Asia fund

The fund will target SMEs in Asian frontier private equity markets including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

The fund would be nearly three times the size of the firm’s previous South-East Asia fund, which raised $91m in 2004. Investments from the previous fund included $3m in Philippines food franchise Pancake House, and $3m in Vietnam wood furniture manufacturer Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation.

Aureos has had difficulty raising sufficient capital for some of its funds since the onset of the recession, with the final close of its Africa fund pushed back to mid-December 2009 after failing to meet fundraising targets. The fund had reached $253.5m at first close in September 2008, $317.8m, which has reportedly increased to $323m this month, and has a $400m closing target.

Headquartered in the UK, Aureos has 15 private equity funds targeting SMEs with regional growth potential, in Asia, Africa, and Central and Latin America.

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