GLy Capital Management, a Hong Kong-based mobility-focused investment rm that announced a nal close on itsdebut private equity fund in July, aims to launch a successor vehicle in the rst quarter of 2023, said founders andco-CEOs Anny Lin and Hrvoje Krkalo.
The investment manager, which is majority owned by Chinese car maker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is lookingto raise USD 300m-USD 500m for Fund II, they said. It has already initiated talks with existing limited partners(LPs) ahead of a planned soft launch in the fourth quarter of this year. The goal is to reach a rst close in the rstquarter of 2023.
GLy Capital hopes to attract new, blue-chip institutional LPs based in the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia to itssecond fund, they said. The rm has yet to appoint a placement agent for Fund II and would welcome enquiriesfrom interested parties.
Fund II will have an investment period of two years and make 15-20 investments with average ticket sizes of USD15m-USD 20m, said Lin and Krkalo. Around 20% of the corpus will be earmarked for follow-on investments inexisting portfolio companies, they noted.
Fund I nearing full deployment
Fund I closed on USD 163m – short of the USD 300m target – after 18 months in the market. It received anchor LPcommitments from Zhejiang Geely and SK Inc [KRX: 034730], a subsidiary of Korean conglomerate SKGroup.There were about 50 investors in total, including family ofces, high net worth individuals, pension funds, andnancial institutions from Asia, Europe, and the US.
The rst fund, which pursues investments of USD 10m-USD 15m on average, has completed nine deals to date,they said. It has about USD 10m in dry powder remaining.
Established in 2017, GLy Capital has USD 600m in total assets under management (AUM) across the rst fund andtwo co-investment vehicles, they said. It wasn’t until 2021 that the rm sought to tap external sources of funding.
Investment strategy
GLy Capital focuses on four areas of decarbonisation: smart cities, electrication technologies, materials andsupply chains, and smart cars, they said. It invests globally but prefers US and Europe-based companies, they said,adding that Southeast Asia coverage will begin with Fund II.
It typically purchases minority stakes in post-revenue companies, usually participating in Series C and D fundingrounds, they said.
One portfolio company has already gone public, following Swedish electric vehicle (EV) maker Polestar’s[NASDAQ: PSNYW] merger with a US-listed SPAC Gores Guggenheim. It currently has a market cap of USD14.32bn.
In May, a second portfolio company, Chinese smart car technology provider ECARX, announced it would mergewith another SPAC, Cova Acquisition [NASDAQ:COVA] at a valuation of USD 3.82bn. Geely Automobile[HKG:0175], a Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely, is also an investor in ECARX.
Other GLy Capital portfolio companies include Germany-based air taxi start-up Volocopter, California-based EVcharging solutions provider Freewire, Israeli 4D imaging radar sensors producer Vayyar, London-based car onlinemarketplace Carwow, and UK-based battery materials developer Nexeon, according to its website.
GLy Capital has 13 staff and plans to set up ofces in Singapore and the US, they said.
by Jessica Wong in Hong Kong
Key Partners
Anny Lin, co-founder and co-CEO of GLy Capital Management
Anny has over 20 years of extensive experience in asset management and wealth management, with expertisespanning private equity and onshore and offshore fund management. Based in Hong Kong, she has served asresponsible ofcer for several nancial services platforms.
Hrvoje (Harry) Krkalo, co-founder and co-CEO of GLy Capital Management
Harry is responsible for the strategic development of GLy Capital, and as a fund investment committee member,also participates in the screening and evaluation of prospective portfolio companies. He works closely withcornerstone investors Zhejiang Geely and SK Inc.
An economics graduate from the University of Adelaide, Harry has developed deep industry knowledge of globaltransportation and mobility ecosystems, complementing extensive experience in nancial services.
He was previously head of sales and digital distribution in the Asia structured solutions group at LeonteqSecurities (HK), and held senior roles at the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Morgan Stanley,Macquarie Bank and Deutsche Bank.
