David Kim, a partner at PAG, is retiring from Asia’s biggest multi-asset manager after 13 years, leaving the firm as it’s seeking to raise one of its biggest pools of private equity capital, people familiar with the matter said.
The former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. banker is retiring this week to pursue “recreational and educational activities between Seoul and Honolulu,” according to an email he sent to clients that was seen by Bloomberg News. A Hong Kong-based spokesman declined to comment. Kim, 60, declined to comment.
Kim, who was chief operating officer for PAG’s private equity business, becomes the second partner to step down from a senior role in Asia in the industry this week. Earlier this week, Carlyle Group confirmed that Patrick Siewert, one of its most senior partners in Asia, would be leaving his role as head of consumer, media and retail, but remain on as a senior adviser.
At the same time, the industry is seeing an increasing demand for seasoned executives to navigate the deteriorating environment and create value from existing investments. Private equity firms are focusing more on creating value from existing investments since they can no longer bet on high multiples to generate returns as growth in Asia slows.
PAG and Carlyle, who had sought to raise almost $9 billion each for their latest Asian buyout funds, are struggling under an increasingly contentious political climate between the US and China. As global pension funds and endowments cut back on their allocations to Asia, PAG earlier slashed its target to $6 billion, while Carlyle had delayed a first close of its fund to April from last year, people familiar have said.
Venture capital powerhouse Sequoia Capital said earlier this month that it’s breaking up into three entities, splitting the Chinese and US operations. KKR & Co. reshuffled its Asia-Pacific private equity team this month, elevating its India chief as sole head of private equity for the region.
Chinese officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the changing landscape for investments in the country. Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday pledged that his nation would do right by foreign investors, underscoring his government’s attempts to assuage worries about the economy and unpredictable policymaking.
“Development is the top priority of the Communist Party of China in governing and rejuvenating the country,” Xi told New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins during his official visit to Beijing.
Kim joined PAG in March 2010. He was previously head of the financial institutions group at Lehman Brothers, where he spent more than 14 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
(Updates to add context in first paragraph.)