MBK Partners reaches $1.8b close for 2nd special situations fund

Private fund house MBK Partners said Wednesday it had reached a final close for its second flagship fund at $1.8 billion to invest under a “special situations” strategy.

The East Asia-focused opportunistic fund, named MBK Partners SSF II, is estimated to be the largest special situations fund managed by an Asia-based investment firm since 2019, according to market intelligence service firm Preqin.

Special situations refer to an investment strategy in which a fund manager bets on a sudden spike in the value of equities or debts, capitalizing on mispricing largely due to a distressed environment.

Its first flagship fund for such strategies, $850 million in size, closed in 2018. The fund has a history of investing in equity in and loans to fried chicken franchise operator BHC, online-only lender K bank, Alibaba Health-backed oncology data company LinkDoc Technology and Japanese golf course chain Accordia Next Golf. SoftBank’s Fortress Investment Group agreed to acquire Accordia Next Golf for $3.6 billion.

MBK Partners said in a statement it took less than a year to raise the funds for MBK Partners SSF II.

“The special situations funds are playing a central role in navigating the market uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kim Byung-ju, chairman of MBK Partners, said in a statement. “In the next few years, the golden era of special situations investing will dawn.”

MBK Partners, dedicated to private equity and private credit, oversees $25.6 billion in assets. The fund house focuses on China, Japan and Korea.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)