Consumer
India e-commerce: Grocery growth spurt
There has been a proliferation of start-ups in India’s online grocery sector, and investors have taken notice. But the companies that survive in the harsh competition to come will have to be tough
PE tech boom: High stakes
It is still only May but Asia has seen 28 deals in the technology, media and telecom (TMT) space of $100 million or more. This compares to 31 in 2014 and an average of approximately 14 for the eight years before that.
PE, Alibaba-backed Baozun set terms for US IPO
Baozun, a Chinese e-commerce platform solutions provider that has several strategic and private equity backers, has set terms to raise up to $177.1 million through a US IPO.
China tour provider gets $500m from JD.com, PE investors
Tuniu, a US-listed Chinese online package tour provider, has agreed to raise $500 million through a private placement to e-commerce giant JD.com and several of its existing PE and VC backers.
Crescent leads $50m round for China parenting site
Crescent HydePark - a unit of Crescent Group - has led a $50 million Series B round of funding for Guo.com, a Chinese online retail platform for maternity and baby products.
VC-backed 58.com acquires ChinaHR.com
Chinese online marketplace 58.com has acquired local recruitment site ChinaHR.com from its parent company Sangroup, an Irish recruitment firm.
Nexus raises $434m for two India VC funds
Nexus Venture Partners has closed its fourth India venture capital fund at $304 million and raised a further $130 million for a top-up fund focusing on later-stage investments in existing portfolio companies.
Indian's Box8 raises $3.5m Series A from Mayfield
US early stage investor Mayfield has led a INR210 million ($3.3 million) Series A round of funding for Poncho Hospitality, the start-up behind Indian quick service restaurant (QSR) chain and on-demand food delivery services firm Box8.
India's Delhivery gets $85m Series D round
Tiger Global has led a Series D round for Indian e-commerce logistics service Delhivery that netted the company $85 million. Existing investors Multiples Alternative Asset Management, Nexus Venture Partners and Times Internet also participated.
PE to exit as Japan's Recruit buys Wahanda
Japan’s Recruit Holdings has acquired UK-based Hotspring Ventures, the company behind online hair and beauty marketplace Wahanda, for JPY4.5 billion ($37.6 million), providing an exit for the company’s VC backers.
CITIC Capital buys Japan apparel brand
CITIC Capital has acquired Japanese women's apparel company Mark Styler for an undisclosed sum.
PE-backed Numero Uno files for India IPO
Indian apparel retailer Numero Uno Clothing has filed for an IPO, hoping to raise INR650 million ($10 million) and providing a partial exit for its backer, AA Indian Development Capital Advisors.
Warburg Pincus leads round for China designated driver service
Warburg Pincus has led a $100 million Series D round of funding for eDaijia, a Chinese mobile-based service that connects users with temporary drivers for their vehicles. Two existing investors, Matrix Partners China and Lightspeed China Partners, are...
Morning Crest leads $5.1m round for Australia's Airtasker
China's Morning Crest Capital has led a A$6.5 million ($5.1 million) investment in Australian local services marketplace Airtasker.
China retail 2.0: The O2O effect
There are more than 2,500 retailers on Tmall, Alibaba Group’s business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce platform, claiming to sell products made by Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning.
NewMargin leads $200m round for China advertising platform
NewMargin Ventures has led a $200 million Series B round for Panshi Information Technology, valuing the Chinese digital marketing platform at $1 billion.
Indonesia's Kudo gets Gree Ventures, East Ventures backing
Japan's Gree Ventures and East Ventures have led a undisclosed Series A round investment in Indonesian online-to-offline (O2O) e-commerce start-up Kudo.
Rocket's FoodPanda raises a further $100m
Goldman Sachs has led the latest funding round for Rocket Internet's emerging markets-focused food delivery app FoodPanda, netting the company $100 million.
VC-backed PropTiger buys local rival Makaan
Indian property marketing platform PropTiger, which is backed by Accel Partners, Horizen Ventures and SAIF Partners, along with News Corp, has bought online property listing and classifieds website Makaan for an undisclosed amount.
India's BuyingIQ bought by VC-backed CarDekho
Price comparison portal BuyingIQ has been bought for an undisclosed sum by Girnar Software, parent company of auto marketplace CarDekho, which is supported by Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital.
Mitsui leads $21m round for India's Naaptol
Japanese trading house Mitsui has led a INR1.36 billion ($21 million) round for India home shopping and e-commerce start-up Naaptol Online Shopping. Existing investors New Enterprises Associates (NEA), Canaan Partners and Saama Capital also took part.
Portfolio: IMM Private Equity and Korea's Hollys Coffee
IMM Private Equity thinks Hollys Coffee has what it takes to become a homegrown star in Korea’s fiercely competitive coffee house industry. Two years into the investment, rejuvenation efforts appear to be paying off
Ticket Monster tools up for e-commerce fight
EBay paid $1.2 billion for a dominant position in Korean online retail in 2009 with the privatization of NASDAQ-listed Gmarket. It was the leading e-commerce marketplace, accounting for KRW3.99 trillion (then $2.6 billion) of the country’s estimated...
PE and China franchising: Eat what you cook
Franchising is an effective way of establishing Western restaurant brands in China. Private equity firms have picked up on the opportunity, but it is not without risk. Local appeal and strong partners are essential