George Raymond Zage, III (born January 20, 1970)[1] is a Singaporean businessman and former hedge fund manager.
Career
After an 8-year stint at Goldman Sachs, Zage rose to prominence at Farallon Capital Management, where he founded the hedge fund's Asian business.[2][3]
At Farallon, Zage spearheaded large private investments in Asian corporates in a way that differed from Farallon's historical investment approach. These investments included the purchase of a controlling stake in Bank Central Asia on the heels of the Asian Financial Crisis, an investment in Aston Resources, which eventually listed and merged with Whitehaven Coal, and Go-Jek, where he serves on the board.[4][5][6]
These investments required Farallon to establish new, closed-end investment vehicles, including Farallon Asian Special Situations I, II, and III,[7] a marked departure from the liquid hedge fund that Farallon had traditionally managed.
After leaving Farallon to found Tiga Investments, Zage was involved in a restructuring of Lippo Karawaci, where he joined the board.[8]
In 2020, Zage was a lead investor in the over $600 million acquisition of Grindr from Beijing Kunlun Tech Co.[9][10] This transaction came about as a result of the decision by CFIUS to compel the owner of Grindr, a Shenzhen-listed Chinese company, to sell the Company to US interests.[11]
Zage serves as an independent director of Toshiba Corporation,[12], and has also made personal investments in Whistler, BC[13]
Personal life
Zage has served as a co-opted member of the Investment Committee of the National University of Singapore, and serves as the chair of the board of the foundation of the Singapore American School.[14][15] He has also been active in Room to Read ,[13][16], and is active in numerous other philanthropic activities.
References
- ^ "Directors and Executives". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ Thompson, Sarah; Macdonald, Anthony (April 28, 2019). "Tribeca recruits ex-Farallon Capital manager for Asia credit". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ Thompson, Sarah; Macdonald, Anthony; Boyd, Tim (November 11, 2019). "Farallon escrow puts target on Whitehaven Coal stake". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ Mallaby, Sebastian (2010). More Money than God. A & C Black. p. 277.
- ^ Manning, Paddy (2013). Boganaire. Black Inc.
- ^ Sender, Henny (April 24, 2019). "Go-Jek and Grab's competing visions play out". Financial Times. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ "Farallon closes special situations fund focused on Asia And Latin America at USD1.12bn". Hedgeweek. November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ Kot, Jan (March 13, 2019). "Riady Family Leads $1B Rights Issue for Lippo Development Unit after Bribery Scandal". Mingtiandi. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ Stech Ferek, Katy (May 29, 2020). "U.S. Approves Sale of Dating App Whose Owners Were Probed by National Security Officials". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ Hale, Kori (March 26, 2020). "Grindr's Chinese Owner Sells Gay Dating App Over U.S. Privacy Concerns For $600 Million". Forbes. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ Bauerle Danzman, Geoffrey; Gertz (April 3, 2019). "Why is the U.S. forcing a Chinese company to sell the gay dating app Grindr?". Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "Lippo Karawaci secures US$1b in funding, names new CEO and CFO". Straits Times. March 12, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ a b Wood, John (2013). Creating Room to Read: A Story of Hope in the Battle for Global Literacy. Penguin.
- ^ Passion Forward: National University of Singapore Annual Report 2019 (PDF) (Report). National University of Singapore. 2019. p. 24. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ "SAS Foundation Board Members". Singapore American School. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ Depuis, Branden (February 7, 2018). "The changing face of Creekside". Pique Newsmagazine. Retrieved November 13, 2019.