Partners Group has agreed to exit its private credit investment in global tea brand Gong cha while it continues to seek opportunities in the Asian market.

The global private markets manager has exited both its private credit and minority equity positions following Bain Capital’s acquisition of the Taiwanese bubble tea brand from TA Associates in August 2026.

In 2019, Partners Group provided a financing package as sole lender of more than $200m (£146.7m) to support TA Associates’ acquisition of Gong cha. Alongside the financing, Partners Group also invested in the company’s equity.

Over the last six years, Gong cha has expanded its store footprint from around 1,000 to nearly 2,200 stores, while growing its presence from 17 to 33 international markets.

“During our investment period, Gong cha capitalised on multiple growth opportunities,” said Zongwen Tan, head of direct lending Asia at Partners Group. “Gong cha was a natural fit for our strategy, where we look to provide credit solutions to growing companies with strong competitive advantages and top-quality management teams.”

Despite exiting the investment, Tan stated that Partners Group continues to see “great opportunities across the Asia region in line with our relative value approach”.

The move comes as Partners Group marks 15 years of activity in the Asian private credit market and continues to invest in the region. Last week, the group closed a $1bn private credit mandate with a “major” institutional investor in Asia, which will invest in senior and junior direct lending opportunities across the region.

Partners Group is not the only manager looking for opportunities in the Asian market, with global asset managers continuing to expand their presence in Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Ratings agency Moody’s said in July that it expects private credit in APAC to continue growing faster than in the US and Europe, driven by financing needs across a range of sectors. However, the firm stated that it does expect fundraising and deployment in the region to slow in the near term.