Morgan Creek to focus on emerging Asia PE

Morgan Creek Capital, a US alternatives fund-of-funds manager with about $7 billion in AUM, is understood to be putting a greater focus on emerging Asia, emphasised by its hiring of Anand Prasanna from Squadron Capital.

Prasanna is relocating from Hong Kong to Morgan Creek’s eight-member Shanghai office as a director, starting next month. He will oversee investment activities in Asia, with a particular focus on India.

He joins from Hong Kong-based fund-of-PE-funds firm Squadron, where he had served as an investment director for Southeast Asia and India since 2008. An internal memo informing staff of his departure was leaked to media earlier this month, just two weeks after Squadron announced that it would be merging with US-based Flag Capital. 

Morgan Creek, which has an additional regional office in Singapore, has both hedge fund and PE investments in Asia. On the private equity side it oversees investments from its $240.7 billion fund-of-fund Morgan Creek Partners Asia, which closed in 2009.

The regional operation will soon have more financial firepower, as the firm is raising capital for Morgan Creek Partners V, a global fund of PE fund that is understood to have an allocation to emerging Asia, in addition to the US and Europe. Its predecessor, Fund IV, is focused on the US.

The fundraising target for Fund V is set at $150 million, with $28.8 million raised as of March this year, according to US regulatory filings.

On the hedge fund side, the firm runs the $250 million FoHF Morgan Creek Opportunity Fund, which last year invested in Hong Kong-based manager Tybourne Capital.

It also runs the Morgan Creek BRIC Plus FoHF, which has about $130 million in assets, with Asian allocations vested in five India strategies and six China-focused managers, including Everest China and Greenwoods Golden China in Shanghai.

Prasanna's focus at the firm will likely be on private equity.

A US-based spokesman for Morgan Creek was not able comment to AsianInvestor on its planned activities in Asia prior to deadline.