Northstar Group Secures First Round of Its Fifth Fund, Targeting 12.5 Trillion Rupiah

The private equity company, Northstar Group has just announced the first round of Northstart Equity Partner V Limited fund (Northstar V). The fifth fund is to focused on the early-stage to growth-stage startups in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

The first round has represented one third of Northstar V target at US$800 million or equivalent to 12.5 trillion Rupiah, following the two previous flagship funds. In this first round of Northstar V, Northstar Group has raised over US$2 million managed funds.

Some investors come from sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, institutional investors, family offices, and other high-net-worth individuals.

"As a regional investment company, we set three investment lines for Northstar V, namely financial services, consumers, and digital economy; based on an analysis of insight market data and our experience in tagging along the company's portfolio," Head of Corporate Affairs Northstar Group Hiro Whardana told DailySocial.

Furthermore, he mentioned the representation plans, "At the planning stage, we are yet to define specific percentages for each investment line. The selection of funds will be based on our analysis regarding the balance of potential return and investment risk."

As previously mentioned, Northstar portfolios are quite diverse. In terms of digital landscape, they also invest in some startups, including Gojek, Zenius Education, and three Vietnam-based startups named UPgen, Tiki.vn, and Topika.

"Specifically for the early-growth stage startup, we are currently focusing on the existing portfolio, however, there is always a possibility to explore more deals," he added.

Northstar Group was founded in 2003 by Patrick Walujo and Glenn Sugita. In 2006, Northstar Group raised its first funding, Northstar Equity Partners (NEP) Limited for US$ 110 million. Followed by NEP II (US$ 285 million) in 2008, NEP III in 2011 (US$ 820 million), and NEP IV in 2014 (US$ 810 million). The company is backed by 27 professional teams in Singapore and Indonesia.

"The Indonesian market, and Southeast Asia in general, offer attractive medium and long-term investment opportunities supported by continuous rapid growth. It is driven by favorable demographic factors, increased consumption and economic standards of the citizen, and literature in education and digitalization," Northstar Group's Co-Founder & Managing Partner Patrick Walujo said.

Glenn Sugita, Northstar Group Co-Founder & Managing Partner added, "In this uncertain situation, we want to be the capital provider and partner of choice for business owners in managing challenges and maximizing opportunities in the future. We will continue to bring not only capital to our portfolio companies but also the expertise and experience we have gained in various sectors and business cycles."

– Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian