Swiss PE fund Excelsior Capital Asia expands investments in Vietnam

Switzerland’s Excelsior Capital Asia, an Asia-based private equity (PE) firm, has been rapidly expanding its investments in Vietnam’s emerging businesses, aiming to capitalize on the country’s growing purchasing power.

Six PE funds with $1 billion mobilized

Established in 1998, Excelsior Capital Asia is an Asia-based private equity firm, having raised and managed six private equity funds and four co-investment vehicles since inception, with some $1 billion raised. Core focus markets include South Korea, Vietnam and China.

Excelsior currently manages Excelsior Capital Vietnam Partners, L.P., Excelsior Capital Asia Partners III, L.P., Excelsior Capital Asia Partners IV, L.P., and Excelsior Capital Asia Partners V, with combined commitments including co-investment of $570 million. Capital Z Asia Partners, L.P. and Capital Z Asia Partners II, L.P. have been fully realized.

Excelsior's funds are managed by professionals located in Hong Kong, Seoul, and Ho Chi Minh City. They include Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese nationals with extensive experience and capability in their respective core markets.

Gary Lawrence is the chairman and founder of Excelsior. He previously served on the boards of Office Depot Korea, CJ Hello Co., Ltd. and DC Chemical in South Korea, Tony Wear (Shanghai) Fashion Co., Ltd in mainland China, Sanlih E-Television and Tainan Enterprises in Taiwan, Zest Health Clubs and Downer EDI in Australia, and Nation Multimedia Group in Thailand.

Prior to Excelsior, Lawrence worked for Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Group in Hong Kong, Tiger Management in New York, and was in the mergers and acquisitions department of Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York.

Making inroads in Vietnam

Excelsior Capital Vietnam Partners (ECVP) was launched during the breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic, becoming Excelsior’s sixth PE fund, designated for Vietnam investments.

Hoang Xuan Chinh, CEO of ECVP, was quoted as saying in early 2021 that the fund had raised $62 million in the first round and aimed for $200 million in total.

It planned to invest in small- and medium-sized enterprises in the country, focusing on high growth potential areas such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, education, and consumer-driven businesses like distribution, retail, and logistics. Each investment will be at least $6 million and exited after four to seven years.

ECVP last November was reported to have kicked off fundraising for its second vehicle. The firm, having fully deployed capital from its first fund, expected the first close of the fund to take place in the second quarter of 2024. The first vehicle had targeted a corpus of $150 million and was closed in 2021.

The second vehicle will continue backing local mid-sized companies in consumer-related sectors such as healthcare, education, retail, agribusiness and consumer products.

Its latest investment in Vietnam, made last November, was Hasaki Beauty and Clinic, a leading Vietnamese health-and-beauty retail chain headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City. The company currently operates some 100 retail stores in 33 provinces across Vietnam, especially in Hanoi and HCMC. It is highly tech-focused and has developed one of Vietnam’s leading e-commerce platforms focused on the cosmetics sector.

The PE firm has also bought a significant minority stake in male grooming chain 30Shine, with an investment estimated at $15 million. Its other announced portfolio companies include Can Tho city-based HCM Stroke International Joint Stock Company, bike retail chain Blue Circle, and wood furniture manufacturer Truong Thanh Furniture Industries Corp.

In 2022, ECVP clocked an exit from education group Khoi Nguyen, which was acquired by KKR-backed EQuest Education.