CPE (investment firm)

CITIC Private Equity was founded in June 2008 during the 2008 financial crisis as the private equity investment arm of CITIC Securities.{{Cite web |last=Wei |first=Michael |date=27 January 2010 |title=CITIC Private Equity raises $1.3 bln for first fund |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/business/aerospace-defense/citic-private-equity-raises-13-bln-for-first-fund-idUSTOE60Q09D/ |website=Reuters}} It quickly a high profile in the private equity industry after hiring Liu Lefei as chairman. Liu who is considered a princeling is the son of top ranking CCP official Liu Yunshan and was previously the chief investment officer of China Life Insurance Company.{{Cite news |last=Thiessen |first=Marc A. |date=26 September 2023 |title=Vivek Ramaswamy has a China problem — and a Hunter Biden problem |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/26/vivek-ramaswamy-china-business-ties-republican-primary/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=28 August 2024 |access-date=15 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240828150942/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/26/vivek-ramaswamy-china-business-ties-republican-primary/ |url-status=live }}

In January 2010 after taking over a year in fundraising, CITIC Private Equity raised 9 billion yuan ($1.32 billion) for its first industrial investment fund called CITIC Mianyang Private Equity Fund. It was the largest yuan-denominated private equity fund ever raised in China at the time.{{Cite news |last=Browne |first=Andrew |date=28 January 2010 |title=CITIC Sets Up $1.3 Billion Private-Equity Fund |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704094304575028471910659934 |access-date=15 January 2025 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926175243/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704094304575028471910659934 |url-status=live }} Wu Yibing, the then-president of CITIC Private Equity stated that two-thirds of the fund will be allocated to companies in the state sector, where the fund enjoys good access partially because of its links to CITIC Group. In addition the fund would only seek minority interests in companies as founders were reluctant to step aside. The fund would play on the aspirations of local companies to emulate Chinese corporate success stories such as Lenovo and Haier. Notable investments of the fund included Wind Information.

In June 2012, Liu resigned from his position of chairman at CITIC Private Equity although he would still remain as CEO of the firm.{{Cite web |date=13 June 2012 |title=Princeling manager to exit citic securities |url=https://www.scmp.com/article/1003833/princeling-manager-exit-citic-securities |access-date=15 January 2025 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en |archive-date=26 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426111506/https://www.scmp.com/article/1003833/princeling-manager-exit-citic-securities |url-status=live }}

In 2018, CITIC securities spun off CITIC Private Equity as an independent firm when it raised a $2.3 billion fund. It was subsequently renamed to CPE. Investors of its later funds included GIC and Temasek. Companies the funds invested in included DiDi and JD Health.{{Cite web |last=Wu |first=Kane |date=16 April 2021 |title=China's CPE reaches first-close of $3 billion new private equity fund -source |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/markets/chinas-cpe-reaches-first-close-of-3-billion-new-private-equity-fund-source-idUSL1N2M907R/ |website=Reuters}}

In September 2023, CPE was mentioned in an opinion piece by Marc Thiessen in The Washington Post that concerned Vivek Ramaswamy. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Ramaswamy portrayed himself as tough on China, promising to bar American companies from doing business there. However it was revealed that in 2017, Ramaswamy partnered with CPE to form a company called Sinovant. In 2019, Ramaswamy partnered with CPE again to launch Cytovant Sciences. In 2023, a Roivant Sciences spokesperson told The New Republic that both companies never generated sales or profits and were no longer operating. Since Ramaswamy's most recent deal with CPE was just over four years ago, his sudden conversion from China deal maker to China hawk was deeply suspect.

• CITIC Group
• CITIC Securities
• CITIC Capital

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• {{official website|http://www.cpe-fund.com}}

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Category:CITIC Group

Category:Chinese companies established in 2008

Category:Companies based in Beijing

Category:Financial services companies established in 2008

Category:Private equity firms of China