PE firms go south to Asean, but buyers beware

Private equity in the region has gone south – to Southeast Asia – with single-country, growth capital and global buyout shops seeking deals in Asean. From January to October this year, $1.1 billion was raised for five Asean-focused PE funds, compared with the $900 million garnered for all of 2011, according to figures from data provider Preqin. Led by Indonesia – whose credit was upgraded to investment-grade by rating agency Moody’s in January – interest in the sub-region has be…