Consumer
KKR, CDH invest in $140m China dairy farm joint venture
KKR has completed its first majority investment in China, partnering with CDH Investments and China Modern Dairy in a $140 million greenfield farming joint venture that will deliver premium raw milk to domestic consumers.
Sequoia leads Series B round for China second-hand car platform
Sequoia Capital led a Series B round of investment for Souche Holdings, an online second-hand car trading platform. Existing backers Morningside Technologies and Ferry Venture Capital also participated.
NSR buys Moshe's Fine Foods
New Silk Route (NSR) has acquired a majority stake in Mumbai-based Moshe’s Fine Foods, which runs a chain of Mediterranean cuisine restaurants and cafés. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Gresham PE exits Tasmanian Walking Company
Gresham Private Equity has exited Australian tour firm Tasmanian Walking Company (TWC) to Virgin Australia co-founder Brett Godfrey. The financial details were not disclosed.
NTT Docomo Ventures, Livesense lead $5.5m investment in Japan's Aratana
NTT Docomo Ventures, the corporate VC arm of the Japanese mobile giant, and internet media firm Livesense have together led a JPY550 million ($5.5 million) investment round for Aratana, a social e-commerce platform developer. Existing VC backers JAFCO,...
Billabong drops Altamont for Oaktree, Centerbridge rescue
Australian surfwear company Billabong had accepted a refinancing plan from Oaktree Capital Management and Centerbridge Partners, walking away from a previous deal with a consortium led by Altamont Capital Partners and replacing top management.
Mediaflag moves to acquire J-Star-owned sweets maker Tokachi
Mediaflag - a company which provides distribution support services to consumer goods manufacturers - has offered to acquire a 100% stake in Tokachi, a traditional Japanese sweets maker owned by Japanese mid-market buyout firm J-Star. The financial terms...
Investors book passage with Tuniu
Most Travel e-commerce companies in China are essentially search engines that provide information on hotel and flight bookings plus a payment mechanism. The team at Tuniu opted for a different tack, focusing specifically on packaged tourism, and they...
ClearVue Partners backs $5m round for China online grocery store
ClearVue Partners has led a $5 million Series A round of funding in Shanghai-based online grocery store Fields.
PE-backed Australia pub fund targets IPO - report
Australian Pub Fund, which is backed by M.H. Carnegie & Co. and Australian superannuation fund Sunsuper, is said to planning an IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Niche funds: Finding an angle
China has seen a proliferation of niche funds in recent years as GPs try to stand out from the crowd with differentiated strategies. Are investors – institutions, individuals or governments – buying into the story?
New Zealand's Pencarrow acquires Bell Tea & Coffee
Pencarrow Private Equity has bought Bell Tea & Coffee Company (BTCC), New Zealand’s oldest tea enterprise, from supermarket chain Foodstuffs. Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is coming in as a significant co-investor, while BTCC’s senior management...
Advent, CDIB, Mirae back The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Advent International has joined Taiwan's CDIB Capital and Japan's Mirae Asset Private Equity to acquire a significant stake in International Coffee and Tea, the company behind US specialty coffee and tea retailer - The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. The largest...
Fosun buys 35% stake in Italian luxury menswear brand
Fosun International, China’s largest privately-owned conglomerate, has agreed to buy a 35% stake in Italian menswear brand Caruso. Much like Fosun’s investments in other foreign brands, the plan is to support Caruso’s expansion in China.
Nissay Capital invests $1.9m in towel company
Nissay Capital has invested JPY199 million ($1.9 million) in Japanese towel maker, Ikeuchi Towel. The size of the stake acquired was not disclosed.
Meridian Capital invests in China fashion app Ichuanyi
Meridian Capital has committed a Series A round of funding for Chinese fashion and clothing mobile app Ichuanyi.com. The investment size was not disclosed.
Navis in Australia demographics play
Australian politicians have long debated ways to enlarge the country’s tax base as they prepare for the economic ramifications of a spiraling dependency ratio. By 2050 there will be just 2.7 people of working age for each person aged 65 and over, compared...
Indonesia flight booking service gets Series A round from Samwer brothers
Global Founders Capital (GFC) a VC firm co-founded by Rocket Internet’s Samwer brothers, has made its first Asia investment - committing an undisclosed sum to Indonesian flight search engine Traveloka.
COFCO PE unit to back Huishan Dairy IPO – report
The PE unit of Chinese food conglomerate COFCO will be among the cornerstone investors in milk producer China Huishan Dairy Holdings, which plans to list in Hong Kong in September.
CFIUS approves Shuanghui acquisition of Smithfield Foods
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has cleared the way for PE-backed Chinese pork producer Shuanghui International to buy US counterpart Smithfield Foods, overcoming one of the biggest hurdles to the $4.7 billion deal.
Temasek, DCM back $60m round for China travel site Tuniu
Temasek Holdings and existing backer DCM have invested in a $60 million Series D round of funding for Tuniu.com, a Chinese online travel tour provider.
Carlyle, Milestone, Orchid Asia among cornerstones for China Tenwow IPO
The Carlyle Group, Milestone Partners and Orchid Asia will participate as cornerstone investors in the proposed Hong Kong IPO of Chinese packed food and beverage producer Tenwow International. The private equity investors will inject a combined of $92.3...
Grocery tycoon launches China retail fund
After selling his family business, Chinese hypermarket chain Home World Group, Yucun Du was on the lookout for a new project. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that he set up a private equity firm.
Morningside, Jingdong invest in Chinese food delivery service Daojia
Existing backer Morningside Ventures and B2C e-commerce site Jingdong (formerly 360Buy) have led a Series C round of investment in Chinese online food ordering platform Daojia. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.