CPE (investment firm)

Not to be confused with CITIC Capital.

CPE
Native name
CPE源峰
FormerlyCITIC Private Equity
Company typePrivate
IndustryAlternative investments
FoundedJune 2008; 16 years ago (2008-06)
HeadquartersBeijing, China
Key people
Liu Lefei (CEO)
ProductsPrivate equity
AUMUS$14 billion (2024)
Websitewww.cpe-fund.com

CPE (Chinese: CPE源峰; pinyin: Yuánfēng) is a Chinese alternative investment firm headquartered in Beijing. Previously known as CITIC Private Equity, it was the private equity investment arm of CITIC Securities before it was spun off as an independent firm in 2018.

Background

CITIC Private Equity was founded in June 2008 during the 2007–2008 financial crisis as the private equity investment arm of CITIC Securities.[1] It quickly a high profile in the private equity industry after hiring Liu Lefei as chairman.[1] Liu who is considered a princeling is the son of top ranking CCP official Liu Yunshan and was previously the chief investment officer of China Life Insurance Company.[1][2][3]

In January 2010 after taking over a year in fundraising, CITIC Private Equity raised 9 billion yuan ($1.32 billion) for its first industrial investment fund called CITIC Mianyang Private Equity Fund. It was the largest yuan-denominated private equity fund ever raised in China at the time.[1][4] Wu Yibing, the then-president of CITIC Private Equity stated that two-thirds of the fund will be allocated to companies in the state sector, where the fund enjoys good access partially because of its links to CITIC Group. In addition the fund would only seek minority interests in companies as founders were reluctant to step aside. The fund would play on the aspirations of local companies to emulate Chinese corporate success stories such as Lenovo and Haier. Notable investments of the fund included Wind Information.[4]

In June 2012, Liu resigned from his position of chairman at CITIC Private Equity although he would still remain as CEO of the firm.[3]

In 2018, CITIC securities spun off CITIC Private Equity as an independent firm when it raised a $2.3 billion fund. It was subsequently renamed to CPE. Investors of its later funds included GIC and Temasek. Companies the funds invested in included DiDi and JD Health.[5]

In September 2023, CPE was mentioned in an opinion piece by Marc Thiessen in The Washington Post that concerned Vivek Ramaswamy. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Ramaswamy portrayed himself as tough on China, promising to bar American companies from doing business there. However it was revealed that in 2017, Ramaswamy partnered with CPE to form a company called Sinovant. In 2019, Ramaswamy partnered with CPE again to launch Cytovant Sciences. In 2023, a Roivant Sciences spokesperson told The New Republic that both companies never generated sales or profits and were no longer operating. Since Ramaswamy's most recent deal with CPE was just over four years ago, his sudden conversion from China deal maker to China hawk was deeply suspect.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wei, Michael (27 January 2010). "CITIC Private Equity raises $1.3 bln for first fund". Reuters.
  2. ^ a b Thiessen, Marc A. (26 September 2023). "Vivek Ramaswamy has a China problem — and a Hunter Biden problem". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Princeling manager to exit citic securities". South China Morning Post. 13 June 2012. Archived from the original on 26 April 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b Browne, Andrew (28 January 2010). "CITIC Sets Up $1.3 Billion Private-Equity Fund". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  5. ^ Wu, Kane (16 April 2021). "China's CPE reaches first-close of $3 billion new private equity fund -source". Reuters.