Värde Partners raises $400m for its first Asian credit fund

Värde Partners, a Minneapolis-headquartered private credit manager, has held a final closing for its debut credit fund focused on the Asian region at $400 million as of 30 November, a source familiar with the matter told Private Debt Investor last week.

Värde Partners has been in the process of raising capital for its first Asian credit fund, Värde Asia Credit Fund, as PDI previously reported.

It is understood that the fund held a first closing in May and second closing in July. It was recorded that the fund garnered as much as $258.2 million as of August, according to another public filing dated 20 August.

Its first Asia-dedicated fund is mainly backed by US LPs as well as few Asian LPs and some European LPs, according to the source. PDI understands that the firm seeks limited partners with equity cheques ranging from $10 million to $200 million apiece for fund commitments.

A London-based firm representative could not be reached for comment by publication time.

The firm’s Asian credit strategy focuses on four main countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, Indonesia, India and Japan. It will invest in corporate credit, special situations and stressed and distressed real estate debt.

The commingled fund is not the firm’s only investment vehicle in the region. In August, Värde Partners announced its strategic partnership with Aditya Birla Capital, a Mumbai-headquartered financial services provider. Värde Partners and Aditya Birla Capital target distressed and special situation investing across various corporate sectors in India.

The move came amid Värde Partners’ expansion plan in India where the firm plans to open a new office in Mumbai by end of the year, according to a statement released on 9 August.

Värde Partners manages $14 billion in assets and employs a value-based distressed debt investment approach globally, spanning corporate and traded credit, real estate, mortgages, specialty finance, real assets, and infrastructure.