SINGAPORE – Temasek has officially announced the establishment of its wholly owned subsidiary 65 Equity Partners, which supports family businesses and entrepreneurs with regional or global ambitions.
The platform will have about $4.5 billion in funds under management and will target deal sizes of between US$100 million (S$135 million) and US$200 million.
About 36 per cent of the funds come from the Singapore Government, while the remaining $2.9 billion will come from 65 Equity Partners or Temasek, the platform’s chief executive Tan Chong Lee told The Straits Times.
It expects to have a total headcount of more than 40 by the middle of next year, he added, noting that some staff will be moving from Temasek.
It is expanding its international footprint through offices in Europe and the United States, in addition to its Singapore headquarters, which launches today.
65 Equity Partners aims to provide capital solutions to address situations such as growth funding and mergers and acquisitions financing, as well as privatisation.
Temasek said that 65 Equity Partners will invest across industries with strong structural tailwinds, such as consumer, industrial and business services, logistics, healthcare and technology.
The platform currently manages Anchor Fund @65 and the Local Enterprises Fund @ 65.
Anchor Fund @ 65, a co-investment fund which was announced last month, invests in late-stage private funding and initial public offerings of high-growth companies. It is starting with $1.5 billion in its first tranche.
Local Enterprises Fund @ 65 is a joint $1 billion fund which was announced in this year’s Budget to help large local enterprises transform and scale up.
Aside from the $2.5 billion pegged to these two government-linked funds, 65 Equity Partners has earmarked $2 billion for its international strategy.
Elaborating on the platform’s objectives, Mr Tan spoke about the global funding gap for mid-sized, family-owned businesses.
This space tends to be supported by family offices and local funds, he said, adding that 65 Equity Partners looks to be a global platform that invests in this mid-market space in Europe, the US and Singapore.
Its strong presence in Asia and understanding of the region, as well as its global perspective, differentiates it from other funds, added Mr Tan, who is also president of Temasek’s commercial arm Temasek International.
The platform plans to work closely with other Singapore-focused funds such as Temasek unit Heliconia Capital Management and private equity firms Tower Capital Asia and Novo Tellus Capital Partners.
It announced its first investment with Tower Capital – a majority stake in corporate services provider BoardRoom – in August.
Mr Tan also noted the natural synergies with Heliconia, given that Heliconia’s investments are in small and medium-sized enterprises and their cheque sizes tend to be smaller.
“When Heliconia companies… mature and need more fund raising, we are the natural port of call in terms of us investing in the Heliconia companies,” he said.
Temasek International chairman Lee Theng Kiat said that 65 Equity Partners complements Temasek’s broader investment strategy.
“The platform will also have flexibility to deploy funds into opportunities that may sit outside the core focus areas of Temasek, such as (privatisation) situations or family business restructurings, thereby increasing the breadth of solutions offered by our wider ecosystem.”