Hony Capital raises $2.7b for new fund

Hony Capital Ltd, the Chinese private-equity firm that bought UK restaurant chain PizzaExpress Ltd in 2014, raised $2.7 billion for a dual-currency fund intended to smooth the way for overseas and China-based investors to participate in the same deals, people familiar with the matter said.


Hony Capital has completed the fundraising, of which about 70 percent is in US dollars and the rest in yuan, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.


The dual-currency fund is a first among larger firms in China's private-equity industry and is designed to resolve some of the long-standing tensions between participants in the firm's separate yuan and dollar pools, the people said.


Until now, Hony Capital and competitors such as Carlyle Group LP and Blackstone Group LP have offered separate funds to their offshore and onshore investors, sometimes leading to questions about how managers were allocating deals and resources.


Dollar-based investors have expressed concerns that they are shut out of the best China deals, while mainland investors, who have restricted access to foreign currency due to the country's capital controls, are sometimes worried they lose out on the most attractive overseas transactions, the people said. The new dual-currency structure is intended to better align the interests of the two sides, they added.


Johnny Xing, a Beijing-based spokesman for Hony Capital, declined to comment.


The article transsshipment from China Daily