Articles by Maya Ando
PE bids for Japan consumer lender: reports
According to reports in local Japanese press, a short list of bidders for Japanese consumer lender Takefuji Corp include: TPG Capital; nonbank financial firm in Kyoto, Japan, J Trust Co.; a major South Korean consumer credit company; and Tokyo-based...
China's Gosen Securities plans to launch the first RMB fund
China's Guosen Securities Co Ltd., Shenzhen-based boutique investment bank, plans to raise a RMB300 million ($45.5 million) private equity fund in Hong Kong following the increase in demand for RMB investment vehicles in China.
Valiant Partners exits Hanshin Dispensing Pharmacy
Valiant Partners Co., an SME-focused private equity firm, has exited portfolio company Hanshin Dispensing Pharmacy Co., a Kobe-based pharmacy chain operator.
Mizuho Capital takes Japanese mail order company private
Mizuho Capital Partners, a Japanese buyout firm based in Tokyo, will help Image Holdings Co., a listed mail order company, to go private through an MBO in conjunction with current president Masakazu Myoga.
Aureos, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance VC in SME-focused partnership
SME-focused private equity fund Aureos Capital and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital (MSIVC), the VC arm of Japan’s largest insurance company, have teamed to launch a program to allow the portfolio companies of each firm, in South East Asia and...
Goldman Sachs to exit Japanese golf operator
Goldman Sachs is set to sell its remaining 44.7% stake in Japan’s largest golf course operator Accordia Golf, coming nearly five years after the American investment bank offloaded 55.3% of the company at the time of Accordia’s IPO.
Former HSBC PE Investment Director Victor Leung joins KPCB
Former HSBC Private Equity Asia executive Victor Leung has joined the Shanghai bureau of Silicon Valley VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) as Partner.
VC firms put $30 million into online shoe retailer
Letao.com, the venture-backed Chinese online shoe retailer, announced that the company has raised an additional RMB200 million ($30 million) in its third round of funding from three backers, including DT Capital Partners and Ceyuan Ventures, the latter...
Advantage Partners portfolio company sells Red Lobster
REINS International Inc., a food chain operator in Tokyo fully owned by Rex Holdings, has sold 100% stake in Red Lobster Japan Co., Ltd., to CELUX Inc., a food business producer and food chain operator based in , Japan.
No recovery for Japan's VC
Japan’s venture capital investment between April and October 2010 - pegged at JPY19.5 billion ($237.6 million) in total - showed no recovery from 2009, a year which saw JPY 87.5 billion ($1 billion) worth of investment.
Blackstone caps Shanghai Jinfeng interest in RMB fund
The Blackstone Group may raise not more than RMB 300 million ($45.3 million) from Shanghai Jinfeng Investment Co., Ltd. for its RMB denominated fund.
Korea's NPS joins up with local conglomerates to form PE fund
National Pension Service, South Korea’s largest investor, plans to form a private equity fund with local conglomerates, including SK Group, GS Group, and KT Corporation, to seek returns from private investments in global markets.
Japan's state-run INCJ made 9th investmnent
Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a joint venture between the government and 19 different public companies, has made a JPY 1.25 billion ($15 million) investment in Nakamura Choko through a third party allotment.
Carlyle sees 6x return on China Pacific Insurer stake sale
US buyout giant The Carlyle Group has sold $860 million worth of shares, equal to a 2.5% stake, in China Pacific Insurance, the third-largest insurer in China.
KKR and Morgan Stanley sell stakes in Orient Corp. to Mizuho
US buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and US investment bank Morgan Stanley have sold JPY 30 billion ($369 million) worth shares in Japanese consumer lender Orient Corporation to Mizuho Financial Group.
Japan's Polaris takes full control of local food chain
Polaris Capital Group, the Japanese private equity firm owned by Mizuho Securities, DIAM Asset Management and other institutions, has acquired a 100% stake in domestic food chain operator Samukawa Food Planning Co.
EQT China takes controlling stake in Qingyuan Bakery
European-based private equity fund manager EQT has taken a 65% stake in Qinyuan Bakery, a leading Chinese bakery chain, through its EQT Greater China II fund.
Carlyle-backed China Fishery looks at Hong Kong listing opportunity
China Fishery Group Ltd, a Singapore-listed company backed by the Carlyle Group, and one of the world's leading fishing companies specialising in a variety of ocean-caught fish, has plans to launch an initial public offering in Hong Kong by issuing 175...
Japan's SMBC forms new PE fund
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), one of the largest financial groups in Japan, has announced that it will be establishing a private equity investment management company alongside its affiliates Sumitomo Corporation, and The Sumitomo Trust &...
Temasek added new portfolio of Vietnamese bank
Singapore’s Temasek has taken a 15% stake in Vietnamese lender Mekong Development Bank for $46 million.
Australia's Future Fund invests in Gatwick Airport
The Future Fund, Australia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, has reached an agreement to buy a 17.2 % stake London’s Gatwick Airport from the Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for approximately $200 million.
TPG and GIC invest in Indonesian miner
TPG Capital and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC has brought a stake in PT Delta Dunia Makmur, Indonesia’s second largest coal mining contractor. The investors bought non-voting shares in Northstar Tambang Persada Ltd, a special purpose vehicle which...
MBK offers Hana $1.7b helping hand
Seoul-based buyout firm MBK Partners has proposed to finance up to two trillion won ($1.7 billion) of Hana Financial Group's takeover of Korea Exchange Bank. Hana Finance have earlier approved a plan to sell up to 1.5 trillion won in local currency bonds....
Stephenson Harwood appoints Michael Guilday in greater China
Stephenson Harwood, a UK-headquartered international law firm, has appointed Michael Guilday, a foreign legal consultant (England and Wales) to its China team to strengthen its investment funds practice in Hong Kong and the Greater China region.