Bangkok-based private equity firm Lombard Asia has secured the final close of Lombard Asia V, a growth equity vehicle targeting investments in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
The fund manager secured a $10-million commitment from Swiss impact manager Blue Earth Capital, according to the latter’s announcement.
“We welcome the addition of BlueEarth, an established and well-known impact-focused fund, to our investor group as we completed the fundraising of Lombard Asia V,” said Lombard Asia chairman Pote Videt in a statement.
“Blue Earth has worked with Lombard Asia to develop its impact evaluation, measurement and management framework, and agreed upon a set of clear impact priorities, including a continuing focus on job creation and training, and furthering the participation of women in the workforce and senior management,” per the statement.
Other limited partners (LPs) in the fund include the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), which said it was considering a $60-million commitment, according to its public disclosure. German development finance institution DEG; French Development Agency’s Proparco; and the Asian Development Bank had also separately committed $20 million each for the vehicle.
Limited partners of Lombard Asia V
| Organisation | Commitment ($) |
|---|---|
| International Finance Corporation | 60 million |
| Proparco | 20 million |
| Asian Development Bank (ADB) | 20 million |
| DEG | 20 million |
| Blue Earth Capital | 10 million |
Source: DealStreetAsia, public disclosures published by Lombard Asia V’s limited partners
While the size of the final close was not disclosed, DealStreetAsia had previously reported, based on IFC’s disclosure, that the firm was seeking to raise $200-250 million and invest in 10-13 portfolio companies with a ticket size of $10-30 million for significant minority stakes.
Covering mid-sized companies with principal operations in Southeast Asia, its geographic focus spans Thailand, Vietnam and other Greater Mekong countries including Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, according to its official website. While the recent joint statement includes Myanmar as part of the fund’s coverage, it is unclear whether Lombard is still combing through opportunities in the country since the military coup in 2021. Lombard’s industry peer Emerging Markets Investment Advisers (EMIA) had already excluded Myanmar from its frontier market-focused fund, it recently told DealStreetAsia.
Lombard Asia, Blue Earth, and IFC had not responded to emails sent by DealStreetAsia till the time of publishing this article.
Lombard Asia most recently backed the $20 million pre-initial public offering round of MONIX, a Bangkok-based fintech company that operates the digital lending platform FINNIX. Lombard Asia is also an investor in the Thai online fashion platform Pomelo.
Launched in 1985, Lombard Asia was set up by a group of Southeast Asia-based investment professionals formerly affiliated with Lombard Investments, which sponsored its three prior funds. The predecessor funds include Thailand Equity Fund; Lombard Asia III, a 2007-vintage fund that raised $234 million; and Lombard Asia IV, which hit a hard cap of $350 million from the likes of Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and IFC. Among them, the three funds have invested in 36 companies in the region.