Articles by Maya Ando
J-Star makes second healthcare acquisition
Japanese private equity firm J-Star has made another investment in Japan’s growing healthcare sector, taking a majority stake in HCM, KK, a domestic provider of in-home care services, via a management buyout. Financial details were not disclosed, but...
Unitas completes landmark Hyva deal
Asian private equity firm Unitas Capital has completed the acquisition of Hyva Holdings B.V. from Europe’s 3i, for an enterprise value of EUR525 million ($761.5 million). The acquisition was partly financed through a high yield bond, marking the first...
India's IFCI invests $56m in Gayatri Energy
Gayatri Energy Ventures has reportedly raised INR250 crore ($56.2 million) from the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) through the issuance of compulsory convertible debentures, marking the largest-sized tranche ever invested by IFCI.
Korea looks to ramp up alternative investments
South Korea’s regulatory bureau is reviewing the country’s financial laws in an effort to scope out methods of augmenting Korea’s alternative investment landscape, through means including domestic private equity and hedge funds, according to Reuters....
Dutchess Capital injects $16.3m in Motopia in Australia
The US-based Dutchess Capital Management, a fund manager specializing on short-term and growth-stage public companies that fall under the ‘special situation’ category, will invest up to A$15 million ($16.3 million) in Motopia Limited, taking a 19.99%...
New Zealand's Direct Capital takes majority stake of Scales Corp.
Auckland-based private equity firm Direct Capital will take a 79.7% stake in local apple exporter and cold storage company Scales Corporation for $44 million, purchasing the asset from South Canterbury Finance, which has been under the receivership since...
China's Phoenix New Media aims to raise $179m in the US
China media group Phoenix New Media has targeted a $178.7 million raise on its impending public listing on a US bourse, and is specifically looking to sell 12.8 million American depositary shares between $12 to $14 each, according to a filing with the...
CNEI invests China's LED producer
China New Enterprise Investment (CNEI), a China-focused private equity firm focusing on growth targets, has invested $11 million in Nanjing Handson, a domestic LED lighting application company.
Matrix Partners closes second China and India funds
Global venture capital firm Matrix Partners China and India have both closed their second funds, the Matrix Partners China II and Matrix Partners India II, with investment corpuses of $350 million and $300 million for the China and India vehicles, respectively....
Accel Partners, angel investors invest $35m in designer start
Private equity firm Accel Partners, with a group of angel investors, has made a$35 million capital injection into 99designs, an Australian start-up design company, as a Series A round of financing.
KKR may take Singaporean abalone producer
US buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) is reportedly in discussions to acquire Oceanus Group, the Singapore-listed abalone farmer, for a deal which may be worth around $500 million, Reuters reported.
Digu.com seeks $25m for expansion
Chinese location-based social networking start-up Digu.com is reportedly looking to raise as much as $25 million from venture investors in its next two round of financing, allocated for its expansion.
Korean consumer lender A&P wins Takefuji
The ongoing bidding process for collapsed Japanese consumer lender Takefuji has officially ended with Korean industry peer A&P Financial besting rival suitors to acquire the debt-burdened asset.
Japan's J-Star makes another healthcare buy
Tokyo-based J-Star has taken a majority stake in HCM, KK., a domestic provider of in-home care services, for undisclosed sum.
J-Will Partner to sell Japanese yogurt company to Ito En
Japanese private equity firm J-Will Partners is reportedly set to offload its dairy product manufacturing asset, Chichiyasu Co., to one of the Japan’s largest beverage makers, Ito En Ltd., by the end of next month.
COFCO, PE-backed fund to launch in China
COFCO, touted as the largest oils and food importer and exporter in China, announced that it last month formed its COFCO Agricultural Industry Fund Management Co., a PE manager targeting PRC agriculture investments. Its initial fund has a corpus of between...
BNY Mellon appoints new Asia Pacific Chairman
BNY Mellon, the global asset manager and investment services provider – which includes private equity and hedge fund investments – has appointed Stephen Lackey as Chairman of its Asia Pacific operations, based in Hong Kong.
Digital travel portal gets $50 million from Sequoia, DCM
Tuniu.com, a China-based digital travel service, has raised $50 million in a Series C venture capital financing round from firms including Sequoia Capital, DCM and Highland Capital, as well as Japanese e-commerce major Rakuten Group.
Blackstone RMB fund approved for QFLP
The Blackstone Group’s RMB denominated domestic Chinese private equity fund has been approved for the Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP) program by the Shanghai authorities according to a report by Bloomberg.
Nature Elements Capital will raise RMB 250 million energy fund
Nature Elements Capital, a Cleantech focused private equity firm in Beijing reportedly plans to raise capital up to RMB250 million ($38.2 million) for a fund that will focus on clean energy projects across Asia.
Blackstone reports first close for its RMB fund
The Blackstone Group has recorded a first close its maiden RMB fund named the Shanghai Blackstone Equity Investment Partnership. In a press release, Blackstone has confirmed that the fund, which has set target size of RMB 5 billion ($765 million), has...
NTT and AP-backed 1st Holdings support Cloud computing techs
NTT Investment Partners, an investment arm of Japanese telecom company NTT Group, will invest JPY113 million ($1.35 million) into Midokura, a cloud-specialized software company. Also in the deal are listed data centre Bit-isle, and 1st Holding, a list...
SBI Holdings launch Korean government-backed PE firm
Japanese financial group SBI Holdings has announced that its private equity entity in South Korea, has been appointed as one of the fund managers to operate a new KRW 10 billion ($92 million) Japan/Korea parts and material fund, to be operated in conjunction...
Unitas takes over Dutch firm Hyva
Unitas Capital has completed its acquisition of 100% of Hyva Holdings B.V., the provider of transport solutions from European private equity firm 3i for EUR 525 million ($761.5 million). London-based 3i was believed to have paid EUR125 million ($160...