Wikipedia

Hillhouse Investment

(Redirected from Hillhouse Capital Group)

Hillhouse Investment Management Ltd. is a Singapore‑headquartered global investment firm founded by Lei Zhang in 2005.[1] The firm began operations with global investments in public equities after receiving seed capital from the Yale University endowment, with early stakes in companies such as Tencent, JD.com Inc, and Baidu.[2][3] Currently, Hillhouse Investment funds businesses of various scale and lifecycle stages.[4]

Hillhouse Investment Management Ltd.
Company type
Private
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2005; 21 years ago (2005)
FounderLei Zhang
Area served
East Asia
Southeast Asia
North America
Europe
Websitewww.hillhouseinvestment.com

Hillhouse maintains offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, New York City, London and Abu Dhabi.[4][5]

Hillhouse's assets under management (AUM) are estimated at US$100 billion as of 2026.[4] In October 2021, Hillhouse raised US$18 billion for its fifth flagship private equity fund, breaking the previous record set by KKR's US$15 billion pan-Asia private equity fund raised that same year.[6]

Hillhouse invests in sectors including consumer, healthcare, technology, and financials services.[7]

History

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Lei Zhang founded Hillhouse Investment in China in June 2005 with an initial US$20 million of seed capital from the Yale University endowment through David Swensen, Yale's Chief Investment Officer at the time.[8]

By 2017, the firm had participated in more private equity acquisitions in the Asia-Pacific region than any other private equity firm, totaling US$26 billion worth of transactions.[9]

In 2020, Hillhouse spun off its venture capital unit into an independent fund, GL Ventures.[10] Hillhouse was nearing raising US$18 billion to back three new funds in May 2021, higher than the projected US$13 billion in April 2021, according to reports, with US$10 billion to be allocated to buyouts, and the rest "split between growth equity and venture."[11] In August 2021, Hillhouse completed fundraising for its fifth flagship private equity investment fund at US$18 billion, the largest amount of capital raised by any private equity firm in Asia and breaking the previous record set by KKR's US$15 billion pan-Asia private equity fund, also raised in 2021.[6]

In 2022, Hillhouse started its first real estate-focused fund, the Hillhouse Real Asset Opportunities Fund (RAOF), with a total investment of more than US$2 billion.[12]

In 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that Hillhouse's China staff had been reduced, while the team in Japan was increased, along with added hires in London and Singapore.[13]

Notable investments

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Tencent Holdings Ltd: Some original US$20 million provided from Yale was invested in Tencent Holdings in 2005. It was Hillhouse's earliest investment and one of their most profitable.[14]

JD.com: Hillhouse was an early investor in JD.com. At the time of the listing of JD.com on NASDAQ in May 2014, the company was valued at US$26 billion. Hillhouse's original US$255 million investment was, at the time of the IPO, valued at US$3.9 billion.[15]

Blue Moon: Hillhouse invested in Blue Moon, a liquid detergent maker, in 2010 as its only outside institutional investor.[16][17]

Zoom: Hillhouse was an investor in Zoom Video Communications in an early funding round in February 2015.[18]

BeiGene: Hillhouse co-led a round of financing for biotechnology company BeiGene in May 2015.[19]

Belle International: In July 2017, Hillhouse purchased footwear company Belle International for US$6.8 billion.[20][21]

Global Logistic Properties: Hillhouse, together with Hopu Investment Management, purchased Singapore-based warehouse operator Global Logistic Properties in 2017 for US$12 billion. At the time, it was the largest buyout of an Asian company.[21]

Little Freddie: In 2018, Hillhouse began investing in the food sector, including organic baby food and snack manufacturer Little Freddie, a Californian craft beer maker and a pet food brand.[22]

Miniso: In October 2018, Hillhouse signed a strategic investment agreement with Japanese-style retailer Miniso worth US$145.6 million.[23]

Philips Domestic Appliances: In August 2021, Hillhouse closed the acquisition of the global domestic appliances business from Dutch conglomerate Philips.[24]

LifeStyles Healthcare: In December 2020, Hillhouse invested in Lifestyles Healthcare, an Australian global manufacturer of sexual wellness products.[25]

Joint ventures

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Hillhouse established an exclusive joint venture focused on China with the US healthcare provider, Mayo Clinic. Hillhouse works with the Mayo organization to expand its healthcare outreach in China.[26]

In November 2017, Peet's Coffee China, a partnership between Hillhouse and San Francisco-based Peet's Coffee, opened the first Peet's Coffee roastery in Shanghai.[27]

Investors

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According to the Wall Street Journal, Stanford University pledged to invest about US$200 million with Hillhouse in August 2015.[28] With Stanford's investment, the firm managed "money for at least six of the 10 wealthiest universities in the U.S." in 2015.[29] The other investors at the time included Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas, and Yale University.[28]

CPPIB committed US$200 million to Fund II in 2014, US$300 million to Fund III in 2016, and US$300 million to Fund IV in 2018.[30]

References

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  1. ↑ "Hillhouse unveils leadership changes in Japan". The Business Times. 2 July 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  2. ↑ Feng, Rebecca; Chung, Juliet (29 November 2024). "The Whiz Kid Who Made Billions for Yale Is Rethinking His China Strategy". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  3. ↑ "Hillhouse Investment opens Abu Dhabi office as war in the region drags on". Reuters. 2 April 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Khan, Sarmad (2 April 2026). "Singapore's $100bn asset manager Hillhouse Investments opens ADGM office". The National. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "Hillhouse Capital to Combine Singapore Offices in New Location". Bloomberg L.P. 15 December 2022.
  6. 1 2 Wu, Kane (28 October 2021). "Hong Kong's PAG seeking to raise $9 bln with new buyout fund". Reuters.
  7. ↑ Witkowsky, Chris (26 March 2020). "Hillhouse runs up against coronavirus downturn with ambitious target for next fundraising". Buyouts. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Sender, Henny (20 June 2014). "Zhang Lei has Lunch with the FT". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Hu, Bei; Browning, Jonathan (14 February 2018). "Asia's Biggest Private Equity Acquirer Is Seeking $6 Billion". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  10. ↑ "Private Equity Giant Hillhouse Sets Up 10 Billion Yuan Venture Fund - Caixin Global". www.caixinglobal.com. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  11. ↑ "Hillhouse Builds Investing War Chest With $18 Billion Raise", Lulu Yilun Chen (7 May 2021), Bloomberg. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  12. ↑ Cole, Michael (21 August 2022). "CPPIB Boost Hillhouse Real Estate Fund to Final Close- Mingtiandi". Mingtiandi. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  13. ↑ Juliet Chung; Rebecca Feng (29 November 2024). "The Whiz Kid Who Made Billions for Yale Is Rethinking His China Strategy". WSJ. Retrieved 15 July 2025. Hillhouse's China staff has shrunk and it has removed many explicit mentions of China from its website; a person close to Hillhouse said the website was changed two years ago to reflect changes in Hillhouse's team and strategies.
  14. ↑ Hu, Bei (20 January 2015). "Hillhouse Capital Said to Raise $2 Billion Private Equity Fund". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Hillhouse, DST And Capital Today To Exit In JD.Com's $500M Follow-On Offering". China Money Network. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  16. ↑ Stevenson, Alexandra (2 April 2015). "The Chinese Billionaire Zhang Lei Spins Research Into Investment Gold". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  17. ↑ Feng, Venus (16 December 2020). "Detergent Turns Former Teacher Into One of China's Richest Women". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  18. ↑ McDonald, Michael; Chen, Lulu Yilun (28 April 2020). "From investments in Tencent to Zoom, Hillhouse founder Lei Zhang is one of the world's richest financiers". The Economic Times. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  19. ↑ Garde, Damian (12 May 2015). "China's BeiGene banks $97M to get its cancer drugs into the clinic". Fierce Biotech. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  20. ↑ "What China's Leading Tech Investor Saw In a Traditional Shoe Company". Fortune. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  21. 1 2 Hu, Bei; Browning, Jonathan (14 February 2018). "Asia's Biggest Private Equity Acquirer Is Seeking $6 Billion". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  22. ↑ Hu, Bei (30 October 2018). "China's Hunger for Safe Food Attracts Tencent-Backer Hillhouse". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  23. ↑ "Tencent, Hillhouse Agree to $145M Deal With Retailer MINISO - Mingtiandi". Mingtiandi. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  24. ↑ "Philips Sells Appliances to Hillhouse in $4.4 Billion Deal". Bloomberg. 25 March 2021.
  25. ↑ Pei Li and Dong Cao (16 February 2023). "Jissbon Condom Maker Lifestyles China Weigh $300 Million HK IPO, Sources Say". Bloomberg L.P.
  26. ↑ "Mayo and Hillhouse Capital China for the first time to develop flexible business model of medical services". Getin. 27 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  27. ↑ Phillips, Justin (21 November 2017). "Peet's opens Shanghai cafe and roastery in first international foray". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  28. 1 2 Mia Lamar; Timothy W. Martin (17 August 2015). "Stanford Is Giving This Chinese Investor $200 Million". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  29. ↑ Lamar, Mia, and Timothy W. Martin, "Stanford to hand $200 million to Chinese fund manager", MarketWatch, 18 August 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  30. ↑ "Private Equity Asia | CPPIB | Canada Pension Plan Investment Board". www.cppib.com. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
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