SC Capital brings aboard first $365m for RECAP IV

The Singapore-based private equity real estate firm has filed the raising with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, bringing it halfway to reaching its $750m target.

Singapore-based private equity real estate firm, SC Capital Partners, has held a closing of $365 million in equity commitments for the fourth in its series of pan-Asia opportunistic real estate funds.

The filings were logged by entrepreneur Suchad Chiaranussati’s firm with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 16 September.

SC Capital is targeting a fundraising of about $750 million for the vehicle, called Real Estate Capital Asia Partners (RECAP) IV. PERE has learned that, while no official hard cap is in place, it has set an unofficial hard cap that would limit the raising to $800 million.

If successful, it would far exceed its previous largest fund, RECAP III, which attracted $530 million from institutional investors in 2012. That fund was oversubscribed by more than $100 million but was stopped at $30 million beyond its $500 million hard cap. Its original target was $400 million.

This time around, however, it is thought that SC Capital has sufficient demand from existing investors to fill all the fund units being offered. Indeed, it is believed the firm has as much as $1.4 billion of commitments soft-circled by investors. As such, many of these stand to be left disappointed with their eventual allocation.

When PERE revealed news of the fund in the summer, it was thought then that SC Capital would hold two closings, one now and one at the end of the year, although, again as a reflection of the demand from investors, the final closing now is understood to be slated for mid-November.

The popularity of the RECAP funds stems largely from the firm’s performance across the series. SC Capital’s first RECAP fund collected $221 million in 2005 and generated a 16 percent IRR and a 2x equity multiple.

Its second was smaller, attracting $190 million in dire capital raising conditions in 2010. That fund is expected to have been fully liquidated by the end of the year and is projecting an IRR of more than 30 percent and a 1.9x equity multiple.

Fund III attracted $530 million and it is understood that by the end of the year approximately $180 million of that capital will have been returned to investors. That fund’s investments too are tracking an IRR of more than 30 percent.

The return target for SC Capital with RECAP IV is 20 percent IRR and 2x equity multiple and its investment period is four years.

Park Hill is assisting the firm with placement advisory services.

SC Capital declined to comment.