Technology
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.
Chinese drone maker gets $75m from Accel
Accel Partners has provided $75 million in funding to DJI, a China-based drone manufacturer. The investment is said to value the company at $8 billion.
Thailand payment services provider gets Series A round
Indonesian venture capital fund SMDV has a $2.6 million Series A round for Thailand-based payment solutions start-up Omise.
Spring Capital's Vanzo merges with Shanghai-listed Kaile
Spring Capital has merged mobile handset manufacturer Vanzo Communication Technology with Shanghai-listed Hubei Kaile Science and Technology. This represents a liquidity event for the China-focused investor.
Anthem invests in Myanmar mobile data collection platform
Myanmar-focused investor Anthem Asia has provided funding to Xavey, a local mobile data collection platform that works with groups conducting research and surveys.
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.
Deal focus: 2C2P plots regional expansion
Southeast Asia-focused payments provider 2C2P has made substantial progress in Myanmar over the last 12 months. It has introduced the country’s first mobile-based point-of-sale payment solution, issued prepaid cards that link to a mobile app, and launched...
KKR-owned MMI completes $580m refinancing
MMI, a Singapore-based hard disk drive components manufacturer owned by KKR, has secured a $520 million term loan and a $60 million five-year secured revolving credit facility to refinance its outstanding debt.
Australian web design start-up Canva raises $6m
Canva, an Australian platform that allows amateur designers to create web graphics using drag-and-drop tools, has raised $6 million in a fresh round of funding led by existing investors Matrix Partners and Shasta Ventures.
Hua Capital, CITIC, Goldstone to buy OmniVision for $1.9b
A Chinese PE consortium comprising Hua Capital, CITIC Capital and Goldstone Investment have agreed to buy OmniVision Technologies, a US-listed chip maker for smart phones and tablet cameras, for $1.9 billion in cash.
IDG, Goldman back US bitcoin start-up's China expansion
IDG Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs have invested $50 million in US-based bitcoin start-up Circle with a few to funding its expansion into China.
Bain-owned MYOB raises $652m in Australia IPO
Bain Capital-owned accounting software developer MYOB has raised A$833.1 million ($652 million) in its IPO, the largest private equity-backed offering in Australia since Healthscope in July of last year.
China VC firm Banyan closes $100m co-investment fund
Chinese venture capital firm Banyan Capital has closed its latest co-investment fund at $100 million, having spent just one month in the market.
VC-backed news app Gunosy sees modest gain after Tokyo IPO
Shares in Gunosy - a Japanese news app developer backed by the venture capital firm Jafco, telecoms company KDDI Corp. and B Dash Ventures - is up marginally on its IPO price after two days trading in Tokyo.
Brinc launches Hong Kong’s first internet of things accelerator
Hong Kong-based early-stage investor Brinc has launched an internet of things (IoT) accelerator program, with a view to developing the city into a global technology hub.
Cathay Capital leads round for FuRui’s medical device unit
Cathay Capital has led a EUR30 million ($33 million) round of funding for Echosens, a France-based diagnostic medical device manufacturer owned by China’s Inner Mongolia FuRui Medical Science.
China’s Huakang Mobile Healthcare raises $32m from VCs
Yunfeng Capital, Shenzhen Cowin Capital, New Horizon Capital and Hunan Haijie Healthcare Investment have provided RMB200 million ($32 million) in Series B funding for Huakang Mobile Healthcare, a Chinese mobile healthcare app developer.
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.
SAIF leads $3.5m Series A for India start-up tracker
Tracxn, an Indian data analytics firm that aims to be the "Gartner of start-ups," has raised a $3.5 million Series A round led by SAIF Partners.
Greycroft, Fidelity lead $6m round for India's Icertis
Indian cloud enterprise start-up Icertis has raised $6 million in a Series A round led by Greycroft Partners and Fidelity Growth Partners India.
Scaling up in financial comparison
Moneysupermarket.com started out in 1993 as an offline provider of mortgage information to financial intermediaries. It went online six years later as a retail business, allowing UK consumers to search and compare different mortgage products. Credit cards,...
Singapore’s TradeGecko seals Series A round
When brothers Cameron and Bradley Priest, and Carl Thompson, arrived in Singapore from New Zealand to join start-up accelerator JFDI.Asia in 2012, the idea was to create a mobile app that would connect e-commerce companies with third-party platforms through...
Southeast Asia payment platforms: Who pays?
When Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) bought a 10% stake in e-commerce incubator Rocket Internet for $444 million last year, the agreement had a notable addendum: the companies would develop a payments and remittance infrastructure for Rocket’s...
Apax to exit iGate as Capgemini agrees $4b acquisition
French IT services company Capgemini will pay $4 billion to acquire US and India-based technology and service provider iGate, facilitating a 3.7x exit for iGate's PE backer, Apax Partners.