For the initial close of Circulate Capital Asia II, Singapore-based investment manager Circulate Capital has raised $220 million.
According to a statement released by the company on Wednesday, this already exceeds Fund I’s $188 million target and represents more than 70% of the fund’s overall goal of $300 million.
The statement claims that the fund will now use growth capital to expand circular supply chains and recycling companies throughout South and Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on packaging and plastic solutions, electronics, and clothing.
This most recent fundraising was spearheaded by a wide range of international investors, including institutional and family office LPs, strategic corporates, and Development Finance institutions (DFIs).
Leading family office Builders Vision joined established DFIs British International Investment, the French DFI Proparco, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as returning corporations like The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, Dow, and Procter & Gamble reaffirmed their commitment to the Fund II strategy.
A strong group of new institutional partners contributed to the fund’s increased momentum.
These include public organizations like Impact Fund Denmark (IFDK), the Swiss DFI SIFEM, which is managed by responsAbility Investments AG, and Australian Development Investments (ADI), as well as a Dutch pension fund through Achmea Investment Management’s Impact Platform and the Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund (EMCAF), which is co-managed by Allianz Global Investors and the European Investment Bank.
High-profile family offices and impact investors, such as Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco, the Netherlands-based impact specialist Wire Group, Clotho Family Office, and Stella (the investment entity of the Heinz Hermann Thiele family foundation), further diversified the investor base.
Fund II will carry out high-growth investments in important markets like India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia in order to take advantage of this opportunity.
Scaling established plastic recycling streams, like PET; creating emerging markets for other plastic materials, like polyolefins; promoting innovation in substitute paper-based packaging solutions; and recovering vital and rare earth elements trapped in recyclable electronics and batteries are examples from the real world.
“Circulate Capital is the first and only private markets manager to bet exclusively on circular supply chains across South and Southeast Asia,” said Rob Kaplan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Circulate Capital.
“Our track record of successful exits demonstrates that the circular economy is no longer just a subset of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) or sustainability. It is a sophisticated asset class that can deliver liquidity to private equity investors,
“With Fund II, we are ready to scale and capture the massive growth potential inherent in these high-velocity economies, to build businesses that deliver financial and impact returns for our investors,” he added.
