JPMorgan Asia Pacific Launches US$750 Million Expansion Into Private Equity

HONG KONG, February 18 /PRNewswire/ -- JPMorgan Asia Pacific ("JPMorgan") today announced a major expansion into private equity investment, as part of its regional growth strategy. The firm is committing an initial US$750 million to mid-market private equity investment opportunities in Asia Pacific.

The expansion will be headed by Mr. Varun Bery and Mr. John Troy, co-founders of TVG Capital Partners. Mr. Bery and Mr. Troy will join JPMorgan as Managing Directors where they will lead a team with a broad investment mandate, including consumer, retail, industrial, healthcare, TMT and natural resources industries, focused on non-controlling investments.

Private equity investments will give JPMorgan the opportunity to strengthen its relationship with existing corporate and financial sponsor clients by offering the ability to co-invest with them and provide growth capital. The business will benefit from JPMorgan's global investment banking platform, sector expertise and research capabilities. The team will be the Asian arm of JPMorgan's Private Equity Principal Investments business, which is headed by Mr. Bob Case in New York.

Mr. Gaby Abdelnour, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Asia Pacific said the expansion would strengthen the firm's ability to capture investment opportunities in the region and build on existing client relationships. "This investment is part of our intensified growth strategy in Asia Pacific. It offers JPMorgan huge potential in the private equity market by allowing us to rapidly accelerate expansion and seize growth opportunities."

Mr. Abdelnour added: "I'm pleased that Varun and John are joining JPMorgan in this exciting expansion. The combination of their knowledge and experience of Asia Pacific markets and JPMorgan's regional and global financial services platform will ensure rapid expansion of our private equity business."

Commenting on the move to JPMorgan Mr. Bery said: "We see a big opportunity to enhance JPMorgan's private equity base in the region. There is significant potential to invest in our target sectors and geographies and we are looking forward to taking advantage of JPMorgan's strength to capitalize on it." Mr. Troy added: "JPMorgan offers broad and deep reach across the region, global knowledge and excellent execution capabilities."

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of US$1.6 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its JPMorgan and Chase brands. In Asia Pacific, the firm is based in Hong Kong and operates in 14 countries and has 25 offices. Information about the firm is available at http://www.jpmorganchase.com.

Press Contacts: Ray Bashford, Head of Corporate Communications, JPMorgan Asia Pacific, Tel: [phone] (office), [phone] (mobile), [e-mail]; Marie Cheung, Corporate Communications, JPMorgan Asia Pacific, Tel: [phone] (office), [phone] (mobile), [e-mail].