Drawn by AUPU’s market leadership, growth potential
HONG KONG, Dec. 19 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Darby Overseas Investments Ltd.
("Darby"), the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Investments and a
leading provider of private equity and mezzanine capital in emerging markets,
announced that its Darby Asia Mezzanine Fund II ("DAMF II") made an equity
investment in AUPU Group Holding Company Limited ("AUPU"). Financial details
were not disclosed.
DAMF II made the investment by subscribing to AUPU’s successful initial
public offering which took place earlier this month on the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange. Based in Hangzhou, China, AUPU started business in 1993 and was the
first to introduce to China the bathroom master, an electrical appliance that
combines bathroom heating, lighting and ventilation in a single product. The
company is the largest and best known in this sector in China and remains the
market leader.
"AUPU fits perfectly into our investment strategy for DAMF II which is to
supply capital to dynamic, mid-sized companies, especially in China," said
Richard H. Frank, Darby’s chief executive officer. "Our local team here in
Hong Kong was able to identify this attractive opportunity several months ago
and carry out the necessary due diligence and build a relationship with AUPU’
s founder and executives before committing to invest in the IPO."
One month ago Darby announced the first investment by DAMF II, a US$20
million financing for Shayne International Holdings Limited, a leading
furniture maker and exporter also based in Hangzhou, China.
James Fang, founder and chairman of AUPU commented: "We welcome Darby as
both an innovative and flexible financial partner in the execution of our
expansion strategy. Rising disposable income in China offers increased growth
potential for consumer products that can enhance living standards, and we are
well placed to take advantage of that potential."
Darby’s first managed Asia mezzanine fund was launched in 1998 and
became fully invested in 2004 after investing US$275 million. The firm has
played a pioneering role in bringing mezzanine -- a hybrid of both debt and
equity - to emerging market regions, initially in Latin America and Asia, and
more recently in Central and Eastern Europe.
Darby Overseas Investments was founded in 1994 by The Honorable Nicholas
F. Brady, who served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury between 1988 and 1993.
In 2003 Darby became a fully owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc.
[NYSE:BEN], a global investment management organization operating as Franklin
Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and
domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton,
Mutual Series, Fiduciary Trust, and Darby investment teams. The San Mateo,
California-based company has more than 50 years of investment experience and
over US$541 billion in assets under management as of November 30, 2006.
