Articles by Justin Niessner
VIG acquires Korea's Eastar Jet
Korea’s VIG Partners has acquired 100% of local low-cost airline Eastar Jet for USD 117m, citing plans to introduce new aircraft to the fleet as part of a “quick turnaround.”
ChrysCapital acquires US-India IT player Xoriant for $350m
India’s ChrysCapital Partners has acquired Xoriant, a US-headquartered but primarily India-based software engineering and IT provider, for about USD 350m.
Hong Kong's VMS appoints PE head
Hong Kong-based multi-strategy alternatives asset manager VMS Group has appointed Jianming Zou, formerly of New Horizon Capital, as head of private equity.
Australia's Potentia backs telecoms technology player
Australia’s Potentia Capital has paid AUD 66.3m (USD 44.9m) for a 25% stake in Soprano Design, a local mobile messaging technology provider that counts Telstra and AT&T as its carrier partners.
Advent acquires majority stake in India's Suven Pharma
Advent International has agreed to acquire a 50.1% stake in India-listed drug industry supplier Suven Pharmaceuticals for INR 63.1bn (USD 761.5m) with plans to acquire an additional 26%.
Australia's Heal Partners closes debut fund on $137m
Australia’s Heal Partners, a health, education, and lifestyle-focused venture capital firm, has closed its first fund on AUD 200m (USD 137m). The target was AUD 100m.
TPG buys India's Poonawalla Housing Finance
TPG Capital Asia has agreed to acquire Poonawalla Housing Finance for a pre-money equity valuation of INR 39bn (USD 473m) and inject an additional INR 10bn to support growth.
PAG closes fifth credit fund on $2.6bn
PAG has closed its fifth pan-Asian private credit fund at the hard cap with USD 2.6bn. It is said to be the largest direct lending fund raised in the region to date.
2023 preview: Mass access to PE
More individuals will be able to invest in private equity as fund fractionalisation technology matures. But a global downturn, ever-malleable regulations, and blockchain gloom loom large
2023 preview: India PE
India’s domestic growth story appears unobstructed, but some international investors could hold their fire. The local PE industry will not graduate to the next level without that foreign capital
2023 preview: Australia PE
Market pressures on Australian businesses, including an increasingly serious labour shortage, are a challenge and opportunity for domestic private equity. So is China, but in less discernible ways
2023 preview: Southeast Asia VC
Southeast Asia VC is in fair position to hobble through a global downturn and cooling appetite for all things tech despite controversial politics in the region’s largest market and a dicey IPO outlook
2023 preview: Japan middle market
Confidence in Japan’s middle market is whipping up new deal flow, new funds, and new exit channels that will play out in 2023. This includes the possible reanimation of a dormant IPO market
New Zealand's Partly gets $21m Series A
New Zealand’s Partly, a company that uses big data to source replacement parts for the global automotive industry, has raised a NZD 37m (USD 21m) Series A round led by UK-based Octopus Ventures.
Korea's Google-backed Mathpresso raises $70m
Seoul-based education technology start-up Mathpresso has closed its Series C round on USD 70m following an investment of undisclosed size last year from Google.
Korea's Bespin Global gets $100m Series D
Korea-headquartered cloud services company Bespin Global has raised a USD 100m Series D round led by a unit of Emirates Telecoms Group.
Winter Capital leads $22.5m Series A for India's Uolo
Dubai-based Winter Capital has led a USD 22.5m Series A round for Indian education technology platform Uolo with support from local investor Blume Ventures.
Japan's Sparx leads $50m round for Singapore IoT start-up
Japan’s Sparx Group has led an investment in Singapore-based internet-of-things (IoT) developer UnaBiz. It completes a USD 50m Series B round that started in October last year.
Hong Kong's E15 VC raises $61m for third fund
Hong Kong’s E15 VC has hit a first close of USD 60.75m on its third global deep tech fund with an anchor investment from existing cornerstone LP Sun Hung Kai & Co (SHK).
India's Blume closes fourth India VC fund on $250m
India’s Blume Ventures has closed its fourth fund targeting seed-stage tech start-ups on USD 250m, beating a target of USD 200m. Fund III raised USD 105m in 2020.
Square Peg, Wellington back Australia's Rokt at $2.4b valuation
Square Peg Capital and Wellington Management have led a AUD 750m (USD 501m) investment in Australian e-commerce marketing technology provider Rokt at a valuation of USD 2.4bn.
India's Innoven fractionalises venture debt fund
India’s Innoven Capital, a joint venture between UOB and Temasek Holdings-owned Seviora Holdings, has fractionalised a USD 50m venture debt fund using blockchain and smart contracts.
Temasek, A91, Kae back $135m round for India's HealthKart
Temasek Holdings, A91 Partners, and Kae Capital have invested USD 135m in Indian omnichannel wellness products retailer HealthKart.
Fund focus: Southeast Asia piques Silicon Valley interest
Singapore’s Iterative is dazzling its entrepreneurial friends in the US with tales of seed-stage success in Southeast Asia and channelling that interest into a sophomore fund