The research group reported that 10 new Asia-targeted investment funds
raised $12.02 billion in the second quarter, a 39.9% decline from the
first quarter's total. The 2008 figures are nevertheless far stronger
than 2007's numbers, as the second-quarter 2008 total is 107.6% higher than the
year-ago period. Focusing in on China, Zero2IPO predicts that buyout shops will raise over $50
billion to invest in the country this year and deploy roughly $10 billion
of those funds into Chinese enterprises in 2008.
On the opposite end, the report said that exits for buyout shops in
China remained stagnant, with the industry chalking up a dismal total
of only five in the second quarter. All of the liquidity events came
through IPOs as buyers of portfolio companies remained hard to find in
spite of the amount of money rushing into the China. Zero2IPO
attributes the continual stagnancy to "worsening of international
capital markets, the sharp plummeting of the domestic stock market and
the new strict regulations published by the regulatory organs."
Moreover the research firm predicts that there will be no secondary
buyouts or sales to strategic investors within Zero2IPO's survey scope.
- George White
See Zero2IPO's survey
