Myo Capital and DBS shelve special sits fund

Justin Ferrier’s Myo Capital and DBS have put marketing on hold for the Myo Capital Special Situations Fund. The fund, which was announced in the spring of 2010, was predicated on capital being raised to match DBS's contribution.

But fundraising has been extremely challenging, and despite the fact that there was reasonable interest in the fund, sufficient capital was not invested to take the fund to a level where it could make a significant first close.

Also, DBS decided to sell its asset management business to Nikko and will put its effort into fund management distribution. Thirdly, Basel III capital requirements resulted in a more onerous treatment of DBS’s commitment to the fund.

Myo is continuing to manage its original fund, the Myo Capital Master Fund, which is focused on distressed and special situations and is backed by a group of family offices and small institutions.

Ferrier is going to build that business by searching out bespoke deals that appeal to investors in family office investment businesses. The size of those deals will range from $3 million to $25 million, with an annual internal rate of return of 20-35% over three years.

Meanwhile, Geoff Lee has resigned from Myo Capital and has got a new job as head of principal investments at KDB Asia, where he will head a small team looking at special situations and private equity. No other details of his new assignment were available at press time.