HONG KONG, Feb 13 – US-based private asset management firm Rohatyn Group said today that it has agreed to acquire 60 per cent of CapAsia, the private equity arm of Malaysia’s CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Singapore-based mid-market fund CapAsia has raised more than US$500 million (RM1.51 billion) in capital commitments across three funds, including an Islamic fund, and has more than US$400 million in assets under management.

CIMB’s sale of a stake in CapAsia comes as banks are turning off commitments to new private equity funds and jettisoning existing assets, anticipating regulation that makes holding private equity assets more costly.

CapAsia funds invest in infrastructure projects in emerging Asia non-BRIC countries. The firm currently has one fund in the market, the CapAsia ASEAN Infrastructure Fund III, with a US$300 million target size, according to its website.

Rohatyn previously acquired 50 per cent of ARCH Capital, a Hong Kong-headquartered Asia-focused private equity real estate firm, from Ayala Group of the Philippines.

Rohatyn also has a presence in liquid emerging markets asset management products, and has offices in New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Buenos Aires, Lima, Montevideo and Sao Paulo.

CapAsia was established in 2006 as a joint venture between Malaysia’s CIMB and South Africa’s Standard Bank Group Ltd. – Reuters