GCP-Backed Hidden Hill Hits $1.1B Final Close of Second RMB Private Equity Fund

2024/01/03 by Christopher Caillavet Leave a Comment

Hidden Hill funds have invested in JD Logistics and other mainland companies in the warehouse sector

Hidden Hill Capital on Wednesday announced the final close of its second RMB private equity fund targeting logistics and proptech companies, with the strategy having raised RMB 8 billion ($1.1 billion) in capital commitments.

Hidden Hill PE RMB Fund II will continue the approach of the 2018-vintage PE RMB Fund I, focusing on growth-stage companies involved in modern logistics services, digital supply chain, renewable energy and related tech, the firm backed by GLP Capital Partners said in a release.

Hidden Hill and GCP, the fund management arm of industrial developer GLP, gave no specifics about the investors in RMB Fund II, saying only that the vehicle drew support from existing and new limited partners including insurance companies, corporate VC firms and funds of funds.

“Successfully closing this new fund is a testament to investors’ confidence in Hidden Hill’s track record of identifying companies that are developing emerging technologies with potential to disrupt the logistics and supply chain industry,” said Hidden Hill managing partner Richard Dong.

Fresh Capital
With the closing of RMB Fund II, Hidden Hill now oversees $4 billion in assets under management across eight RMB and US dollar private equity strategies. Through its funds, Hidden Hill has made investments in companies including JD Logistics, China Southern Airline Logistics and J&T Express.

Hidden Hill Capital managing partner Richard Dong

The RMB 10 billion RMB Fund I was unveiled more than four years ago as the first fund in the GLP family to target assets beyond real estate. The vehicle received backing from institutional investors including China Post Capital, a division of the mainland state-owned postal operator.

In December 2022, Hidden Hill announced the $465 million final close of its dollar-denominated Foundation Fund with capital commitments led by NewQuest Capital Partners, the Hong Kong-based private equity firm acquired by US giant TPG in 2022. The fund makes investments within the modern logistics and supply chain ecosystem in China and elsewhere in Asia.

“We look forward to working with more investors to identify and empower the latest technologies and innovations that are charting the future of the new economy,” GCP China president Teresa Zhuge said in this week’s announcement.

Momentum Continues
The Hidden Hill news came one week after GCP revealed the closing of China Income Fund XI with RMB 3 billion in assets under management in partnership with an unidentified domestic insurance institution. The fund is seeded with four modern logistics parks from GLP’s balance sheet with a total leasable area of 540,000 square metres (5.8 million square feet) in Shanghai, Jinan and Harbin.

Less than a month earlier, GCP had announced the closing of China Income Fund X, also backed by a mainland insurer, with the vehicle’s total size including leverage amounting to RMB 4.3 billion ($600 million).

GCP had $126 billion in assets under management across 57 funds at the end of September 2023.