The US private equity firm has been a holder of financial and investment industry businesses, such as Kestra Financial in the US, for example.

US private equity firm Warburg Pincus will be hiking its stake in Asian real estate fund manager ARA Asset Management to 48.7 per cent from 30.7 per cent, trying to benefit from stronger investor enthusiasm for property funds.

ARA said that gross assets managed by it and its associates had grown to S$88 billion ($62 billion) as of end-2019 from about S$35 billion in late 2016, when ARA’s co-founder John Lim teamed up with Warburg Pincus and others to take Singapore-listed ARA private, valuing it at S$1.8 billion.

“Since its privatisation, ARA has made great strides in realising its vision of becoming a leading APAC real assets fund manager with a global reach. The company has expanded rapidly over the past few years with strategic stakes in complementary real estate platforms in Japan, Australia, Europe and the US, as well as pursuing organic growth opportunities across multiple sectors,” ARA said in a statement yesterday. 

Shareholders in ARA include its co-founder, John Lim, as well as Li Ka-shing-backed CK Asset Holdings and Straits Trading Company. China’s AVIC Trust is selling its stake.