Singapore-headquartered private equity firm Circulate Capital said Wednesday it has marked the first close of its second Asia-focused fund after securing $220 million (around Rs 2,060 crore).
This represents more than 70% of the fund’s $300-million target and already surpasses the size of its debut vehicle, which raised $188 million, the PE firm said in a statement.
The circular economy-focused investment manager plans to deploy the capital across South and Southeast Asia. It aims to target investments in areas such as recycling, packaging, electronics, and apparel supply chains.
The firm said that the fund attracted a mix of returning and new investors, including corporate houses such as The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, Dow, and Procter & Gamble, alongside development finance institutions such as International Finance Corporation, Proparco and British International Investment.
Its new backers include the Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund, co-managed by Allianz Global Investors and the European Investment Bank, as well as Impact Fund Denmark, the Swiss development financier SIFEM, and Australian Development Investments.
The investor base also included several family offices, including Builders Vision (founded by Walmart heir Lukas Walton), Stella (the investment entity of the Heinz Hermann Thiele family foundation), Clotho Family Office, the Netherlands-based impact specialist Wire Group, and Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco.
“Building circular supply chains takes long-term commitment and strong collaboration across the value chain. Our reinvestment in Circulate Capital through Asia Fund II reflects our belief that scaling inclusive recycling systems is essential to keep materials in use, strengthen local ecosystems, and build more resilient supply chains,” said Jean-Yves Krummenacher, Global Chief Procurement Officer at Danone.
The fund will invest in countries such as India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia, with a focus on scaling plastic recycling, building alternative packaging solutions, and recovering materials from electronics and batteries.
Circulate Capital founder and CEO Rob Kaplan said the firm is positioning circular economy investments as a scalable private markets asset class. “Our track record of successful exits demonstrates that the circular economy is no longer just a subset of ESG or sustainability. It is a sophisticated asset class that can deliver liquidity to private equity investors,” he said.
The firm also said its first fund has already exited Recykal and partially exited Lucro and Srichakra Polyplast in India.
