SeaTown Holdings, indirectly owned by Temasek Holdings Pte., is planning to raise about US$1.5 billion ($2.0 billion) for its new Asia-focused private credit fund, people familiar with the matter said.
Singapore state investment firm Temasek and its affiliates plan to commit about US$1 billion for SeaTown’s new private credit fund, launched late last year. An additional US$500 million would be raised from external sources, the people said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private.
It’s not clear whether the money coming from Temasek and its affiliates would be a fresh allocation to the alternative asset class or capital recycled from SeaTown’s other private credit fund.
One of the biggest shifts in debt markets in recent years has been the rise of private credit, where asset managers make loans directly to companies — often smaller or less creditworthy ones — as banks pull back. While Asia accounts for only a small portion of the global pool, it’s growing quickly.
Fundraising in the region touched US$11.2 billion last year, up 42% increase versus 2021, according to a Global Private Capital Association report. India and Southeast Asia drove the increase in transactions for 2022, it said.
Spokespeople for both SeaTown and Temasek declined to comment. Temasek indirectly owns SeaTown through its asset management group Seviora Holdings Pte.
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SeaTown’s first private credit fund, launched in December 2019, has US$1.23 billion in committed capital, according to the firm’s website. Its second private credit fund was launched in November.
While SeaTown’s fund will primarily invest in Asia Pacific, it has the option to invest as much as 25% of committed capital in non-APAC deals, according to some of the people. That figure could still change, one of the people said. However, the fund will not actively seek out non-APAC deals, the people said.
The fund is aiming for an internal rate of return of 14% to 15% and a multiple on invested capital at 1.4 times for its investors, according to some of the people.
