SINGAPORE and GREENWICH, Conn., Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- General Atlantic LLC ("GA"), a leading global growth investor, today announced the opening of a new office in Singapore. The office is led by Managing Director Abhay Havaldar, and serves to expand GA's investment activities in Southeast Asia. Nick Nash, a Vice President with GA, has relocated to Singapore from New York to join Havaldar as part of the Singapore team.
The Singapore office is GA's tenth office globally and its fourth office in Asia, joining established offices in Beijing, Mumbai and Hong Kong. GA opened its first office in Asia in 1999 and has invested nearly US $2 billion to support the growth of two dozen Asia-based companies. Recent investments in Asia include IndusInd Bank, a bank and financial services provider in India; Asian Genco, a hydroelectric power production company in India; Tenfu, the leading tea brand and retailer of tea products in China; Sun Art Retail Group, China's largest hypermarket; and SouFun, the largest online real estate portal in China.
Bill Ford, CEO of General Atlantic, commented, "As one of the first growth equity firms to expand globally and build regional investment teams, we are excited about extending our presence into Southeast Asia. Abhay Havaldar established our Mumbai office nearly eight years ago and built it into one of our largest offices worldwide. It is a strong sign of our commitment to growth companies in Southeast Asia that we have asked Abhay and Nick to relocate to Singapore to launch our investment activities in the region."
Abhay Havaldar said, "Our presence in Singapore will expose us to the many exciting high growth investment opportunities in Southeast Asia and support our current Asia investment programme in China and India. Our differentiated strategy of partnering with strong management teams and providing world-class expertise to help them achieve their global growth aspirations is particularly attractive in these dynamic markets."
Added Nick Nash, "Southeast Asia is home to some of the world's most successful family and entrepreneur-owned businesses. GA's flexible approach of serving as a growth-oriented shareholder is ideally suited to the long-term partnership these companies value."
General Atlantic was founded in 1980 and invests approximately US $2 billion annually in growth equity capital on a global basis, typically from US $50 million to US $500 million per investment. General Atlantic has supported the growth of global market leaders such as Genpact (India), Gilt Groupe (USA), First Republic Bank (USA), Lenovo (China), NYSE Euronext (USA), BM&FBovespa (Brazil), E*Trade (USA) and Priceline.com (USA).
About General Atlantic
GENERAL ATLANTIC is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. GA combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great management and build exceptional businesses worldwide. Established in 1980, GA manages approximately US $17 billion in capital and has more than 75 investment professionals based in Greenwich, New York, Singapore, Palo Alto, London, Düsseldorf, Hong Kong, Beijing, Mumbai and Sao Paulo. For further information and a listing of GA's public and private portfolio companies, see www.generalatlantic.com.
Media Contacts:
Pat Hedley
General Atlantic
Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
+1-203-629-8658
phedley@generalatlantic.com
Eujin Song or Huiluen Lien
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Singapore
+65-6213-7899
Eujin.song@ogilvy.com or huiluen.lien@ogilvy.com
Adam Weiner or Peter Hill
Kekst and Company
New York, New York, United States
+1-212-521-4800
adam-weiner@kekst.com or peter-hill@kekst.com
