Manila, October 31, 2018
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, the IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund, two funds managed by IFC Asset Management Company (AMC), are investing up to $65 million in Altus Special Situations Asia 1 LP. The investment will support distressed companies in East Asia’s emerging markets with financing to ensure they can meet their financial obligations, regain creditworthiness, and preserve jobs, thereby contributing to sustainable growth.
Companies in the region face challenges, despite strong economic growth. In some markets, following the global financial crisis, loan defaults among highly leveraged corporations have increased, and a ballooning of non-performing loans (NPLs) has locked in banking capital. As a result, financially distressed companies are unable to obtain credit to restore viability and rebuild their operations.
Through its global Distressed Assets Recovery Program (DARP), IFC works with partners to build regional platforms across emerging markets and catalyze other institutional investors to invest in distressed assets. The investment will enable Altus to set up a regional facility to invest in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, the latter two being nascent markets for distressed asset recovery. With this investment, IFC and AMC seek to support this growing and attractive market for investors.
"I am excited to embark on this next phase of Altus Capital’s expansion with our partners at IFC, AMC and other institutional investors,” said Pavan Gidwani, Altus Capital’s CEO. He added, “We welcome Altus playing a dynamic role as both a hands-on investor and an asset manager within this growing region, actively assisting to unlock value in viable but underperforming middle-market companies, as well as in hard assets in need of redevelopment and repositioning. Our track record provides many documented successful turnaround stories in various sectors and markets, all with high social and development impact. We are fully committed to build upon that continuing legacy with our new Fund."
Altus Special Situations Asia 1 LP will have up to $272.5 million of deployable capital. IFC, IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, and IFC Emerging Asia Fund will be contributing up to $15 million, $25 million, and $25 million, respectively. Altus Capital Corporation will contribute $7.5 million.
“IFC’s support is likely to promote greater market integration for distressed asset resolution through the creation of a regional platform. This will mobilize much needed regional and international capital for distressed companies to make them viable again,” said Vivek Pathak, IFC Director for East Asia and Pacific. He added, “Subsequently, these companies can plan for long-term, sustainable growth that increases job opportunities, driving economic growth in the region.”
“The IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund are pleased to invest in Altus, which will provide much needed capital and expertise for companies in the region that have struggled to perform. In doing so, the funds see an opportunity to enhance this impact and create good financial returns for our investors,” noted Marcos Brujis, Chief Executive Officer, IFC Asset Management Company.
IFC has worked with Altus—an existing DARP partner—since 2012. As of March 2018, IFC DARP has deployed over $5.5 billion focused on distressed assets globally. In Asia, IFC DARP’s active projects include IFC commitments of approximately $525 million and co-investments of approximately $560 million
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About IFC
IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In fiscal year 2018, we delivered more than $23 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About IFC Asset Management Company
IFC Asset Management Company, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of IFC, mobilizes and manages capital to invest in businesses in developing and frontier markets. Created in 2009, AMC provides leading institutional investors with unique access to IFC’s emerging markets investment pipeline and investment expertise, while providing positive development impact in the countries in which it invests. AMC funds’ investors include sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and development-finance institutions. It has raised approximately $10 billion across 13 investment funds covering equity, debt, and fund-of-fund products. For more information, visit
www.ifcamc.org
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About the IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund (FIG)
The $505 million IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund is a follow-on fund to the IFC Capitalization Fund and makes equity and equity-like investments in financial institutions in emerging markets.
About the IFC Emerging Asia Fund (EAF)
The $693 million IFC Emerging Asia Fund, launched in 2016, makes equity and equity-like investments across all sectors in emerging markets in Asia.
About Altus Capital Partners
Altus Capital Partners is a specialist investor and asset manager, focused on Special Situation and Distressed Assets investments across South East Asia.
The firm invests, on behalf of funds it manages, into stressed, distressed, non-performing, and underperforming portfolios of both credit and real estate originated from various selling financial institutions, corporate turnaround and rescue financing and direct real estate investments that are in need of redevelopment, value add and repositioning strategies.
The firm’s asset management infrastructure includes an internal credit and remediation servicing team, a real estate brokerage team, and an in-house real estate development team, providing a turnkey solution to distressed real assets that the firm acquires.
The firm started in the Philippines in 2005 and has since expanded into Thailand and Indonesia.