South Korean private equity firm Hahn & Company is set to reach a final close of approximately USD 3.34bn on its fourth flagship buyout fund, including a co-invest vehicle of USD 140m, in the second week of July, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

The sources, who put the exact final close date as July 11, said the final close amount would likely be slightly above the USD 3.2bn target. The fund, which reached a first close of USD 1.9bn in June 2023, has secured around USD 3.1bn in commitments to date, the first source added. The fundraising period has been extended to accommodate one LP, the second and third sources said.

Hahn & Co, established in 2010 by Scott Hahn, formerly CIO of Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, raised USD 3.2bn for its third fund in 2019. The fund comprised USD 2.7bn in core equity and a USD 500m co-investment sidecar that would increase in size when the GP wanted to scale up for larger deals.

Fund IV has the same structure, according to the third source. A co-investment vehicle with an initial capital of USD 140m has already been raised.

The source added that 95% of existing large-cap LPs – defined as those committing USD 100m or more – re-upped for Fund IV. New investors include Korea’s National Pension Service and Teachers’ Pension.

Hahn & Co has not previously raised capital from local LPs for its flagship funds. However, Korean investors did feature in the USD 1.5bn single asset continuation fundraised for cement maker-turned-environmental services player Ssangyong C&E [KRX: 003410] in 2022, the source said.

Should the final close happen as planned, Hahn & Co IV would be the largest country-focused private equity fund raised in Asia outside of China, according to AVCJ Research. It comes at a difficult time for Asia fundraising. The USD 67.2bn committed to Asia-based managers last year – excluding renminbi-denominated fund – represented a six-year low.

The strategy for Hahn & Co’s fund is largely the same as that of its predecessors – control transactions across the consumer, industrial, transportation and logistics, and the hospitality and entertainment sectors, this news service reported in June 2022.

The private equity firm’s recent deal activity includes the sale of Hanon System [KRX: 018880] to Hankook & Tire & Technology [KRX: 161390], which was announced in March. The company, formerly known as Halla Visteon Climate Control, has been in the Hahn & Co portfolio since 2015.

Last December, the private equity firm sold SK Eco Prime, a biodiesel manufacturer, to Hillhouse Investment, securing a 3x return. Hahn & Co bought the company from SK Chemicals for KRW 382.5bn (then USD 322m) in early 2020 via its Fund III.

Hahn & Co declined to comment.

[Editor’s note: The headline and lede have been amended to clarify the total size of the fund amounts to USD 3.34bn including a co-invest vehicle of USD 140m.]