This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) website at 2:20 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2025.
Premier Partners, a domestic private equity fund (PEF) manager, has secured funding from global overseas investors as it builds a 1.2 trillion won blind fund. Mid-sized and new managers are succeeding in bringing in overseas limited partners (LPs), a field once dominated by large managers.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 8th, Premier Partners is in the final stage of raising capital for its sixth blind fund. It has been about half a year since it proceeded with fundraising from overseas LPs after the second closing (950 billion won) in the first half of this year.
Premier Partners plans to raise about 150 billion won from overseas LPs. Global alternative investment firm Ardian was the first to commit. Ardian is making its fourth investment in Premier, continuing a trusted relationship. Multiple LPs, including the French asset manager Flexstone Partners, are also positively reviewing commitments.
An IB industry official said, "Ardian tends to place emphasis on the distribution to paid-in ratio (DPI), which indicates how much of the returns distributed in cash are compared to the paid-in principal," and noted, "Premier Partners' fund was likely strong on this metric."
Premier Partners moved to secure a new network through a placement agency (PA) that represents overseas fundraising. The amount raised from overseas LPs itself is not large relative to the fund size. However, it is seen as significant in that a mid-sized manager is steadily winning over investors and opening the door to transactions with new investors.
Previously, Premier Partners mainly raised money from domestic pension funds and mutual aid associations. During fundraising for the sixth fund that began last year, it secured key LPs by ringing up successive wins in commitment programs from the National Pension Service, Korea Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of Korea, Korea Scientists and Engineers Mutual-aid Association, and Korea Teachers' Credit Union.
Ark & Partners, established in 2021 and a relatively new manager, also completed the creation of a 200 billion won fund by attracting about 100 billion won from Pavilion under Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek and from U.S. university endowments. Based on its distinctive "growth buyout" strategy and the performance of its Remember investment, it drew overseas money without PA help, gaining industry attention.
Other domestic PEF managers receiving overseas money include Hahn & Company, MBK Partners, IMM, Glenwood PE, and UCK Partners. Another IB industry official said, "Overseas investors first invest small amounts and increase their commitments once capabilities are verified," adding, "Even small checks are hard to win, so from a manager's perspective, opening the door to investment is positive."
Founded in 2005, Premier Partners invests mainly in small and mid-sized companies and operates separate PE and VC divisions. Assets under management total about 3.5 trillion won, and the average return of liquidated funds is 65%. Major PE portfolios include Mega Coffee, Krafton, Medit, and BAIM.