Research

Key data takeaways:

Overall private capital investment across GPCA’s markets – including Asia, Latin America, Africa, CEE and the Middle East – remained on par with the past two quarters, as investors deployed USD21.5b across 775 disclosed transactions in Q1.

 

 

As digitalization continues to reshape GPCA’s markets, investors have deployed more than USD25b toward developing and servicing data centers and telecom towers since 2021, ensuring sustainable long-term growth. 

• Highlighting the growing importance of digital infrastructure in Southeast Asia, KKR announced a USD400m follow-on investment in Philippines-based Pinnacle Towers in Q1 to support the development and acquisition of 2,000 additional towers across the country. Meanwhile, Singapore-based GDS International secured USD587m to fuel data center development and operations outside of Mainland China.
• In CEE, an Actis-led consortium acquired 1,800 macro towers across Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro in a portfolio carve-out from Telekom Srbija.

 

 

Fundraising for GPCA markets grew for the third straight quarter – albeit from a low base – reaching USD14b. CVC Capital Partners’ sixth Asia private equity fund (USD6.8b) was the largest announced in Q1, but infrastructure equity and debt funds were a primary driver of capital commitments.

• Fund managers announcing final closes for infrastructure funds included KKR (USD6.4b), Stonepeak (USD3.3b), Global Infrastructure Partners (USD2.1b) and CAF-Asset Management Corporation (USD300m).
• Edelweiss Capital reached a USD964m first close for its second India-focused infrastructure debt fund, while Patria Investments raised USD203m towards its first Brazilian infrastructure debt fund.

 

Additional data highlights: 

• Partech Partners reached a final close for its second Africa-focused early-stage fund with USD300m in commitments, marking the region’s largest VC fund raised to date. The venture capital momentum in Africa has continued into Q2 with notable final closes from TLcom Capital (USD154m) and Verod-Keppel Africa Ventures (USD60m).
• Peruvian healthcare company Grupo Auna raised USD360m on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2024, the first IPO of a PE or VC-backed company in Latin America since Nubank’s USD2.6b IPO in December 2021.
• Baring Vostok-backed Kazakh fintech platform Kaspi secured a secondary listing on NASDAQ, raising over USD1b.
• Affirma Capital Partners raised USD145m for a single-asset continuation fund for Zambia-based Copperbelt Energy, backed by NORFUND and Norwegian insurer KLP. Managers are exploring GP-led secondaries in a wider array of geographies as an alternative means of returning capital to investors.
• Investors in Middle East tech platforms are increasingly targeting B2B startups in addition to consumer-facing platforms. E-commerce solutions provider Salla raised USD130m in a pre-IPO round from Investcorp, Sanabil Investments and STV in Q1.

 

GPCA Members can log in to download the Q1 2024 Industry Data & Analysis Excel file, which contains expanded analysis and commentary; fund and transaction listings; and breakdowns of investment activity by asset class, sector and geography.

For questions and feedback or to request custom data cuts from the research team – including GPCA’s complete fund- and deal-level dataset – please contact research@gpcapital.org.