Global dealmaker EQT bets big on Asia as powerful growth engine

EQT, one of the largest private market investors in the world, is doubling down on Asia, calling the region a big growth engine and home to some of the most compelling opportunities across private equity and infrastructure. 

“Asia is a big growth opportunity for us… we see some of the most attractive opportunities in our pipeline in Asia,” EQT CEO Per Franzén said in an interview with CNBC. The Swedish private equity giant said more private market investors worldwide are seeking to diversify their portfolios and channel more money toward the region.

Earlier in April, EQT raised over $10 billion for its ninth Asia private equity fund, the BPEA Private Equity Fund IX, which launched in August 2024 with a $12.5 billion target. The firm also plans to invest around $930 million in South Korea’s enterprise software provider Douzone Bizon.

EQT’s emphasis on the region also mirrors that of other private equity players.

Rival KKR recently said that half of the 2025 private‐equity capital that it will return to investors this year will be from Asia. The American firm even held its first board meeting in Tokyo, despite being headquartered in New York.

Jean-Eric Salata, EQT’s long-time Asia chair and nominee for global chairman next year, said the firm’s Asia strategy hinges on a strong local presence to exploit what he called “structural alpha opportunities” in the region, or inefficiencies, especially when compared to the U.S. and Europe.

“The markets here are quite inefficient, in many ways more inefficient… so in order to capture that alpha, you really need to be on the ground and have a local presence,” Salata said, adding that EQT has 350 staff across Asia.

He noted, however, that Asia’s complexity and relatively high entry barriers make operating locally essential for sourcing deals, recruiting talent, and driving exits.

While many global private equity investors remain cautious on China, EQT sees a different opportunity set emerging.

“The buyout strategy, we believe, is still a little early… the maturity of the market is not quite there yet in China.” said Salata.

“Where we see a lot more interesting opportunities in China is in the early stage strategies where there’s a tremendous amount of innovation… a tremendous amount of growth.”

He added that EQT’s strategy in Asia centers on companies tied to domestic demand rather than cross-border flows, allowing its assets in industries such as services, software, education and financial services to be more insulated from geopolitics such as U.S.-China tensions.

“We own one of the largest hospital groups in India, doing gastrointestinal procedures. That business is booming, and it’s really completely uncorrelated to what’s going on with trade or with trade tariffs and all of that complexity,” Salata said.

In 2020, China accounted for more than half of all Asia-Pacific private equity deal value, but that share plunged to 27% in 2024, according to a Bain & Company report this year.

Additionally, while some private-equity managers have attributed weak exits to high interest rates, EQT said its decisions and outcomes have been largely independent of monetary cycles.

Franzén said the firm isn’t counting on rates falling: “We certainly don’t count on interest rates coming down… It will be important that you continue to invest into your value creation capabilities.”

Salata cited examples such as Nord Anglia Education, which EQT acquired with a consortium in March, valuing the international schools operator at $14.5 billion.

“People want to invest more in their children’s education, particularly in this part of the world and that business, we delivered $10 billion of distributions back to our investors, again, through a very challenging environment, in terms of where interest rates were,” Salata said.

“If you have the right assets in the right sectors, and you’re adding value to the businesses, we try to create an all-weather strategy that’s not necessarily correlated to what’s going on with interest rates.”