Tikehau Capital co-founder Antoine Flamarion
Tikehau Capital, the Paris-based fund manager backed by Singaporean state-owned investor Temasek, has set up a joint venture with Japan’s Nikko Asset Management to develop private asset investment strategies tailored to the Asian market.
Incorporated in Singapore at the close of 2024, the JV made a licensing application to the central bank in early 2025 and remains subject to regulatory approval, the companies said in a release. The new venture’s name, Tikehau Amova Investment Management, reflects plans for Nikko AM to rebrand itself as Amova Asset Management this September.
The JV further develops the strategic partnership established last June between Tikehau and Nikko AM, under which the Japanese player acquired an equity stake in Tikehau and the rights to distribute the Euronext-listed firm’s products in Japan and other markets.
“The partnership aims to develop innovative, Asia-focused private asset investment strategies by combining the complementary expertise of both firms,” the companies said. “The goal is to address the growing investor demand for private asset investment in Asia, while aligning with key secular investment themes, such as decarbonisation.”
Beefing Up in Asia
Tikehau, which manages €47.1 billion ($49.3 billion) in global assets across private debt, private equity, real estate and public markets strategies, has been ramping up in Asia.
Nikko Asset Management executive chairman Yutaka Nishida
Last April, the fund manager announced preparations to open an office in Hong Kong — its fourth branch in Asia Pacific after Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo and its 17th location globally. In the same announcement, Tikehau revealed a tie-up with Flow Capital, a Hong Kong-based private credit platform affiliated with New World Development scion Adrian Cheng.
The Flow partnership aims to explore private credit co-investment opportunities in Asia and Europe by leveraging Tikehau’s institutional relationships and Flow’s networks among institutional partners and family offices in Greater China.
Tikehau’s partnership with Nikko AM involves the Japanese firm being granted exclusive distribution rights for Tikehau’s products, including its European direct lending and private debt secondaries strategies, primarily in Japan, and non-exclusive distribution rights in other selected Asian markets.
UOB Springboard
Tikehau Amova hopes to leverage Tikehau’s established capabilities in Asian private debt, building on the French firm’s existing strategy with UOB Kay Hian, the brokerage arm of Singaporean financial services group UOB.
Last February, Tikehau and UOB Kay Hian announced a partnership to jointly launch an Asia Pacific private credit strategy focused on providing financing to mid-sized corporates across the region, with the partners each contributing $50 million to the partnership.
Temasek acquired an equity stake in Tikehau in 2016, with the Singaporean giant holding a 4.5 percent interest in the fund manager as of December 2023.
More recently, Tikehau agreed to buy a portfolio of 30 French hypermarket and supermarket properties from troubled grocery store operator Groupe Casino for over €200 million ($215 million) in a deal announced last July.
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