13 Jan

EFA Group achieves first close of its latest closed-ended Asian private credit fund

SINGAPORE. 13 January 2020. EFA Group, a Singapore-based alternative asset manager specializing in private debt strategies, announced today that it has completed the first close of its latest direct lending fund with commitments from a range of existing and new institutional investors as well as EFA Group’s management team.

With a geographic focus on Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the Fund provides term loans secured against real assets to established companies. Consistent with the Group’s 17-year investment history, the Fund will focus on the natural resources, manufacturing and logistics sectors, with an overlay of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations integrated into its investment process.

Having provided more than US$13 billion of financing to businesses in the past decade, EFA Group is well established in the direct lending space in Asia, with a captive network of over 300 borrowers. This myriad of portfolio companies offers the Fund a head-start in origination as well as unique insights in performing due diligence, monitoring and structuring transactions.

The Group’s first closed-ended credit fund was launched in 2016 and deployed in excess of US$400 million across 22 transactions, delivering a net return of close to 12% to investors. On the back of this strong performance, the second vintage will target a net return of 12% – 15% by deploying capital in the same strategy. It will be a 5-year closed-ended fund, subject to two additional 1-year extensions.

The Fund is targeting a US$300 million final close by the end of 2020, raised through the Group’s existing network of investors, capital allocators, and in partnership with a market specialist in Japan.

“The strong support and commitments we received so far from both existing and new investors have been encouraging, and we were able to showcase our deal origination capabilities by deploying that capital immediately. We have an extensive investor pipeline in our target markets that our team expects to execute in the coming months, which aligns with the transactions we have available to fund, ” says Xavier de Nazelle, Head of Private Credit for EFA Group and the Fund’s portfolio manager.

“I appreciate the confidence that our investors have, and their trust in the EFA platform. Our senior management team has also invested significantly alongside our Limited Partners as a testament to our full commitment and alignment of interests with our investors,” added Francois Dotta, CEO of EFA Group.

ENDS

About EFA Group
EFA Group is an independent alternative asset manager specializing in private debt strategies, with a focus on real economy businesses in Asia. Since its inception in 2003, the Group has since expanded in size and capabilities, and is now an award-winning platform of 40 professionals strategically headquartered in Singapore with offices in London and Melbourne. The firm is a signatory of the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investing and is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore under EuroFin Investments Pte Ltd.

Media Contact

Siti Rasiqah
Head of Communications
E: siti.rasiqah@efa-group.net

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