GIC nabs crown as Europe's top overseas private equity investor in Q2

It has injected US$14.3b into European businesses from April to June.

Sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd has beat private equity giants from New York and Boston after it was crowned as the largest foreign PE investor in Europe in Q2 with US$14.3b (S$19.57b) in investments, according to a report by PitchBook.

Although the bulk of Europe’s 804 PE deals in Q2 were driven by homegrown firms, non-European investors are steadily zeroing in on European targets as they diversify their portfolios, the report noted.

GIC’s notable European investments include capital injections for Helsinki-based healthcare company Mehiläinen, London-based property search platform ZPG and France-based hotel operator AccorInvest. GIC was also the most active Asian PE investor in Q1 after completing a total of 11 deals, data from PitchBook show. 

Around 32% of GIC’s investments are in the US, 13% in the Eurozone and 6% in the UK as of end-March, according to its latest portfolio report.

New York-based Kohlberg Kravis Roberts came in at second place with US$13.8b (S$18.88b) in European investments in Q2 followed by Canada pension fund Public Sector Pension Investment Board which has invested US$6.81b (S$9.32b).  Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and Bain Capital seal the top five with US$6.7b (S$9.17b) and US$6.53b (S$8.94b) in Q2 investments respectively.