Perfect World, an online game developer and operator based in China, is making another commitment to a venture capital fund to help it back later-stage deals.
The additional RMB396m ($63.75m) commitment follows the limited partner’s 2011 investment of RMB643.5m ($100m) in the same unnamed general sector fund.
However, according to Perfect World, the targeted VC is expected to invest the additional capital in another private equity fund as a limited partner. Perfect World agreed to invest as a limited partner over a nine-year period back in 2011.
The private equity fund will primarily focus on investing in mature companies in the consumer and retail, financial services, healthcare, technology, media, telecoms, energy and natural resources, and high value-added manufacturing industries in China.
The core team managing the private equity fund consists of former senior members of global private equity and financial services firms and a former senior executive of a Fortune 500 company. These core team members in the past have managed private equity investments of nearly a combined $3bn.
Michael Chi, chairman and co-chief executive of Perfect World, said: “We are very pleased that the VC fund we have invested in has the opportunity to participate in this private equity investment focusing on later stage companies.
“We are confident about the leadership of this private equity fund and believe this investment diversifies and complements the VC fund’s other targeted investments in the high-growth TMT sector.”
In September 2011, Perfect World set up a corporate venturing fund with a $100m commitment.
In other related news, according to an SEC filing released on April 22 Fosun International, China’slargest privately held conglomerate, increased its holdings of Perfect World to 31.9 million ordinary shares, accounting for 13.2% of total issued shares.