Blackstone [NYSE:BX] has told investors it will target USD 10bn for its third pan-Asian fund, which will likely launch in the final quarter of 2024, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

This will form part of a larger pool of capital for deployment in the region, so the firm expects to end up with around the same as the USD 11bn it has in the current cycle, the second source added.

Formal marketing will commence in September at the earliest, the sources said. Blackstone declined to comment on fundraising.

The firm said in its second quarter earnings call that four strategies – including Asia private equity – have been launched or would launch in the next few quarters. Jonathan Gray, Blackstone’s president and COO, said the new vintages would likely be as large if not larger than the current funds.

The second quarter filing indicates that USD 4.71bn is still available out of total Fund II committed capital of USD 6.78bn, including the GP contribution. However, in addition to the USD 6.4bn raised specifically for Asia, USD 4.6bn was allocated from Blackstone’s global funds. The latter comprises contributions from the firm’s global flagship private equity fund and separately managed accounts.

Fund III will have a similar two-part structure and will likely be roughly the same size, the second source explained.

The asset manager had USD 1.1trn under management as of end-June, including USD 145bn in corporate private equity. Investment in Asia came through global funds until 2018 when a debut pan-regional vehicle closed on USD 2.3bn.

As of June, Fund I was marked at a multiple of 2.4x and an IRR of 26%. Fund II was on 1.7x and 26%.

Blackstone focuses on six core geographies in Asia Pacific: Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. India is expected to feature most prominently in Fund III, followed by Japan and South Korea, the first source said. China exposure is likely to be lower than in previous vintages.

The Asia strategy also favours control transactions and concentrates on sectors such as healthcare, technology, consumer, financial services, and value-added industrials.

Asia PE activity highlighted in the earnings call included a take-private of Japan-based publisher Infocom [TYO:4348] at a valuation of JPY 333.8bn (USD 2.1bn) and the sale of Korean medical products wholesaler Geo-Young to MBK Partners for KRW 1.95trn (USD 1.4bn). Earlier this month, Blackstone agreed to exit a second asset to MBK – Japanese consumer healthcare play Alinamin Pharmaceutical.

Last year there was more India deal flow, including acquisitions of Care Hospitals and International Gemological Institute and exits from Sona Comstar and IBS Software. Sona Comstar, which involved merging and reorienting two companies to create a leading electric vehicle components supplier, is one of Blackstone’s most successful investments in the region.