J.P. Morgan strengthens private capital division

Amid all the news of resignations and firings, J.P. Morgan is strengthening its private capital division in Asia, bringing on board Vibhav Panandiker and Cathy Zhang.

Panandiker and Zhang are both managing directors, reporting to Varun Bery who heads private capital for Asia. Bery earlier co-founded TVG Capital Partners in 1998 and has also worked with The Asian Infrastructure Fund Advisors in Hong Kong, and Credit Suisse in New York.  

The private capital division was set up in February 2008 and thus far has made one investment in Tianrui Group Cement Company in China.

Panandiker joins from Standard Chartered Bank's private equity division and will be based in Singapore. He will be in charge of the firm's private equity investments in Southeast Asia and India. Zhang joins from Dragontech Ventures Management and will be based in Hong Kong, with responsibility for the Greater China markets.

The US bank says the hires further demonstrate its long-term commitment to Asia where the firm sees significant opportunities arising from the market downturn. With the latest hires, the division now operates from offices in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore and Sydney.

The group co-invests in private equity transactions and works both with the bank's financial sponsor clients and its corporate clients. It has a focus on middle market growth and expansion capital deals with a median deal size of $50 million. It does not seek control transactions, but co-invests with sponsors on control deals. The primary geographic focus is on Australia, China, India, Japan, and Korea.