Bain Capital is buying 100 percent stake of Chinese auto parts supplier Asimco Technologies for nearly $150 million, a source close to the deal confirmed to PEI Asia.
Bain Capital declined to comment and Asimco could not be reached by press time.
Bain Capital is buying Asimco from about 30 shareholders including the private equity arm of American International Group (AIG) and Key Principal Partners, the private equity vehicle of Cleveland-based financial services firm KeyCorp. The deal has been structured as a mostly equity-based transaction and includes only around $10 million in debt.
Founded in 1994, Asimco supplies products including fuel injection systems, powertrain and chassis components, and rotating electrics to both the Chinese and global automotive markets. With its headquarters in Beijing, Asimco has 13 manufacturing facilities, 52 sales offices and 900 service stations across China, along with other offices in Japan, Europe and the US.
Bain Capital was attracted to the firm because it is well-positioned, technologically developed, and has a strong relationship in the market with auto manufacturers, the source said.
Established in 1984, Boston-based Bain Capital has left significant private equity footprints in its core Asian markets of China, India and Japan lately. In January, the firm made its initial foray into Indian private equity with a $125 million investment in Mumbai-listed Himadri Chemicals, followed by a $61 million investment in Indian clothing manufacturer Lilliput Kidswear in April.
In November last year, the firm paid Citigroup Capital Partners $1.1 billion for 93.5 percent of Japanese telemarketing company BellSystem24, after fending off other suitors including Permira and a CVC-Blackstone partnership.
In April, Walid Sarkis, a co-founder and managing director of Bain Capital’s European operations, moved from London to Hong Kong to bolster the firm’s Asian operations.
Jonathan Zhu, a Hong Kong-based managing director at Bain Capital, shares his views on China, Asia’s buyout markets and GOME in the next issue of PEI Asia magazine, due out in September.