domain-b.com : Warburg Pincus raises $15 billion in new fund; exceeds target

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	Warburg Pincus raises $15 billion in new fund; exceeds target news

	23 April 2008

	Shrugging anxiety about the global crdit crunch, investors have poured a record $15 billion in to global private equity firm Warburg Pincus's largest fund, Warburg Private Equity X, that closed yesterday, exceeding the $12-billion target by 25 per cent. Warnburg will utilise the fund for investing in early stage, growth, and late-stage businesses across North America, Europe and Asia. The invstors to the fund include public and private pension funds, endowments and global financial institutions including the Washington State Investment Board and GE Asset Management, as well as new investors, half of whom were from outside the US, Warburg said. According to Washington State Investment Board's web site Warburg has handed investors in its 2001 fund a 22.4 per cent net internal rate of return. Its 2005 fund has generated a return of 13.6 percent so far, the web site said. The new fund is the next in size to the €11.5-billion ($18 billion) pool raised this year by Apax Partners Worldwide LLP's. Warburg Pincus's pool is the fourth-largest US private equity fund, on par with TPG's. Blackstone Group LP manages the biggest buyout fund, at $21.7 billion, followed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and KKR. Leveraged buyout firms raised $82 billion in the first quarter of 2008, up from $64 billion in the last quarter of 2007. The new York-based Warburg Pincus has not been hit by any failed investments though it has yet to recover anything from bond insurer MBIA Inc, in which it had put in $500 million in December 2007 at $31 per share, followed by another $300 million at $12.15 per share in February as part of MBIA's $1 billion recapitalisation to avert a cut in its AAA credit rating. Warburg is MBIA's largest shareholdr with a 17-per cent stake. The firm made its first international investment in 1983 and opened its London office in 1987 and its Hong Kong office in 1994, making it one of the early entrants in emerging markets including China, India and Central and Eastern Europe. It has more than $35 billion of assets under management with its investments focused on a range of sectors in North America, Europe and Asia, including financial services, healthcare, industrial, technology, media and telecommunications, energy, consumer and retail and real estate. In India Warburg Pincus's portfolio includes Amtek Auto, Aryan Coal, Gangavaram Port, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Lemon Tree, Max India, Moser Baer India, Nicholas Piramal India, Radhakrishna Foodland, Rediff.com and Sintex Industries. WNS, and Writers and Publishers Limited (publishers of the Dainik Bhaskar group of publications). Warburg Pincus, which had invested in Suni Mittal's Bharti Tele-Ventures, recovered six-and-a-half times or about $1.9 billion of its its original investment. Warburg Pincus was formed from the the merger of Eric Warburg's investment banking firm and Lionel L. Pincus & Co. in 1966. Pincus, 76, remains as chairman, with co-Presidents Charles "Chip" Kaye, 44, and Joseph Landy, 46, running the firm. Since inception in 1971, the firm has raised 12 private equity funds that have invested more than $29 billion in approximately 600 companies in more than 30 countries. Warburg Pincus currently has an active portfolio of more than 100 companies. Warburg Pincus invests in leveraged buyouts of established companies and backs start-up businesses with the same fund and invests in industries including sectors, including consumer and retail, energy, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, industrial and technology, media and telecommunications. Commenting on the fund closing, Joseph P Landy, co-president of Warburg Pincus said, ''We are gratified that limited partners continue to be attracted to our unique model - to invest across domains, geography and across company stage of life out of a single, global fund. We have a time-tested approach - growth investing in growth-oriented regions. This is a particularly attractive investment strategy in the current environment.'' ''We've always viewed our mission as being investors, as opposed to asset managers,'' said Co-President Charles R. Kaye. ''Our ability to generate superior rates of return has always been a function of our willingness to search for a market discontinuity, whether it be technology driven, or propelled by an economic dislocation or an entirely new business opportunity. Our fundamental goal is to build businesses that deliver sustainable value over the long term.'' Warburg's full portfolio: 7 Days Inn Aeolus Re Aicent Alita Pharmaceuticals Alliance Tire Company Allos Therapeutics Altus Pharmaceuticals Amtek Auto Antero Resources APT Generation Aramark Arch Capital Group Archimedes Pharma Aryan Coal AsiaEC Bacchus Vascular Bascom Bausch & Lomb Bill Barrett Corporation Brandywine Senior Living Bridgepoint Education Broad Oak Energy Builders FirstSource CAMP Systems International Canbriam Energy Cassatt CCS Medical Centrum B.V. Ceres, Inc. ChartOne China Hui Yuan Juice Chipnuts Clondalkin CoalTek Cobalt Group Competitive Power Ventures Coyote Logistics Cranite Systems DexCom easycash ElectroMagnetic GeoServices Enerchina Eurand Euromedic ev3 Fairfield Energy FHP Investments FiberNet Communications Fortent Gangavaram Port Global Lighting Technologies GlobalSpec Gome GreenPark Group Greentown China Holdings Ltd. GT Nexus Harbin Pharmaceuticals ICICI Bank Ideal Stelrad IMB Group Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Integra Telecom InterMune Intime Jarden Kasen International Kosmos Energy Kotak Mahindra Laredo Petroleum Lemon Tree Lepu MACH Max India MBIA, Inc. Medical Staffing Network MEG Energy Metavante MLM Moser Baer India Multikabel-Casema Neurogen Corporation New Breed Nicholas Piramal India Nikko Asset Management North Pole NuLens NYFIX OnTargetJobs Petrotec Biodiesel PhotoThera PI Corp. Polypore International Prestwick Pharmaceuticals ProStrakan Qualication, Inc. Racebrook Radhakrishna Foodland Raycom - Olive Raza Microelectronics (RMI) RDA Micro Rediff.com Resolution II Rib-X Pharmaceuticals Romanian Real Estate Salick Cardiovascular Centers Scientific Learning Secure Computing Service Repair Solutions Sintex Industries Spectraseis Spectrum K12 School Solutions Spheris Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Synesis Synutra International Targa Resources Telcordia Telmar Network Technologies The Neiman Marcus Group Titan Petrochemicals Tornier TradeCard TransDigm Triyar Hospitality Tulip Media Universal Space Network Vringo Wall Homes Wall Street Systems Wavicle Systems Corporation Wellman WNS Workscape Writers and Publishers Limited Yodlee Zetera ZymoGenetics