Early Gojek backer Northstar Group hits first close of fifth fund

Singapore-headquartered private equity firm Northstar Group announced the first close of its fifth flagship fund, representing about a third of its US$800 million target in total commitments.

The company said that it has already received backing for Northstar Equity Partners V from a wide range of investors, including sovereign wealth funds, insurance firms, institutional investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.

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With the new fund, Northstar plans to continue investing in mature growth companies as well as select early-stage opportunities. It will be focused on Indonesia and, to a lesser extent, other countries in Southeast Asia.

Northstar V’s core investment themes will focus on consumers, financial services, the digital economy, and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, the firm said in a statement.

Patrick Walujo, co-founder and managing partner at Northstar, noted that Indonesia and other Southeast Asian markets offer strong medium- to long-term investment opportunities, as they are expected to see continued growth over the coming years.

“This growth will be driven by favorable demographics, increasing wealth and consumption, greater levels of education, and further digitization,” Walujo added.

Since being founded in 2003, the firm has backed more than 30 companies in the region across a number of industries. Some of its notable investments include Gojek, real estate brokerage firm APAC Realty, and convenience store brand Indomaret.

One of its latest investments came early this year when it led the US$20 million series A round of Indonesian edtech startup Zenius.

Northstar said it now manages over US$2 billion in assets under management. It closed its first fund in 2006 at US$110 million, followed by a US$285 million fund in 2008. Then, the company raised US$820 million in 2011 and US$810 million in 2014 for its third and fourth funds, respectively.