Private equity-backed investments in Southeast Asia generated $680 million in realised proceeds in the first quarter of 2025, before the Trump tariffs roiled global markets.
The value of private equity exits across five deals in the region rose 126% year on year from $300 million in the first three months of 2024, according to EY’s latest report. This was mainly driven by Blackstone’s $556-million exit from its Avery Lodge worker housing portfolio in Singapore which was acquired by Bain Capital.
Source: EY
There were 14 new private equity deals closed during the quarter totalling over $2 billion, a nearly seven-fold jump from $300 million in the first quarter of 2024. Half of the amount came from the billion-dollar fundraising by Yinson Holdings’s offshore unit from a consortium including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canada’s British Columbia Investment, and RRJ Capital.
Source: EY
Private equity deals made up 20% of the total M&A deal value in the region in Q1 2025, “a good start for the industry”, the report stated.
But the momentum is set to be exacerbated by uncertainties during the 90-day tariff pause for Southeast Asian countries, which once benefitted from the China plus one strategy where manufacturers were diversifying their exposure from Greater China. New trade measures could bring a shift in foreign investments in the region, the report suggested.
Deal activity and exits are expected to slow over the next few quarters amid geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties, said Luke Pais, EY-Parthenon Asia-Pacific Private Equity Leader. “PE firms should work with portfolio companies to uncover the risks and opportunities across areas such as customer demand, supply chain, manufacturing, currency volatility and tax exposure,” Pais said.
A survey by EY shows that 87% of global general partners were helping their portfolio companies assess the potential impact of new tariffs on their supply chains, while 57% said they were evaluating their portfolio companies’ manufacturing footprints as part of their current strategy to prepare for the expected tariff increases.
