Asia Private Equity Investors Eye 40% Discounts to Lift Returns

Asia’s wealthy investors are eyeing discounts of up to 40% to buy private equity assets in the secondary market as they seek to boost returns, according to asset manager Ardian SAS.

Secondary funds are trading at 30-40% discounts, much higher than in the US, according to Jason Yao, senior managing director and head of Greater China at Ardian, which manages $180 billion.

“There’s liquidity needs for the sellers who are willing to give a relatively deep discount,” said Yao, speaking on a panel with Bloomberg’s Sonali Basak at the Bloomberg Invest Hong Kong event Tuesday. “They’re willing to give ...