Articles by Holden Mann
Asia e-commerce: The next generation
Most of emerging Asia’s e-commerce giants faced a binary choice between the asset-heavy online retail and asset-light marketplace models. Now, though, investors have a more nuanced opportunity set
India's Gateway offers to buy Blackstone stake in freight subsidiary
Indian logistics company Gateway Distriparks (GDL) has offered to buy The Blackstone Group's stake in its freight subsidiary GatewayRail Freight (GRFL) for INR6 billion ($90.3 million).
India's One97 to split e-commerce, payments businesses - report
Indian mobile services One97 Communications will spin off its electronic payment service Paytm into a separate entity under One97's co-founder Shekhar Sharma.
Taiwan plans $609m M&A fund
Taiwan's National Development Council (NDC) will launch a NT$20 billion ($609 million) fund to assist domestic companies with mergers and acquisitions.
NEA, Orios commit $4m to India's IntelligenceNODE
IntelligenceNODE, a retail-oriented big data analytics start-up based in India, has raised a $4 million Series A round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Orios Venture Partners.
IFC to back Jungle Venture's second fund
International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest up to $10 million in Singapore-based Jungle Ventures' second venture capital fund.
Softbank's Nikesh Arora commits $482 million to the firm
Softbank President and COO Nikesh Arora has invested JPY60 billion ($482 million) in the firm in a personal stock market transaction.
Tata Opportunities Fund invests in Uber
Tata Capital will make a significant investment in ride-hailing service Uber through its Tata Opportunities Fund (TOF).
Singapore online grocer RedMart raises $26.7m
Singapore-based online grocery marketplace RedMart has raised $26.7 million in a bridge round from existing investors Garena Online, Softbank Ventures Korea and US-based Visionnaire Ventures.
Deal focus: Blume targets e-commerce’s back-end
Asian e-commerce companies are having a hard time living up to their billing. Orders may come in at the speed of light, but deliveries come from warehouses that largely still dependent on relatively slow human labor.
Softbank, Foxconn, Alibaba lead $500m round for Snapdeal
SoftBank Group, Foxconn Technology Group and Alibaba Group have led a $500 million investment in Indian online marketplace Snapdeal.
India's IIFL to raise $153 million VC fund
IIFL Wealth Management, the Indian financial services firm backed by Fairfax Holdings and the Carlyle Group, will raise a seed venture fund of up to INR10 billion ($153 million).
Tiger invests $15m in Indian fashion site Roposo
Tiger Global has invested $15 million in Indian fashion-oriented social network Roposo.
Deal focus: CITIC Capital gears up global strategy
When CITIC Capital and Crestview Partners bought Canadian auto parts supplier Stackpole International for $512 million in 2013, they had little suspicion that they would be exiting less than two years later. But they did feel that Stackpole’s variable-speed...
Goldman Sachs invests $150m in India's Piramal Realty
Goldman Sachs has invested $150 million in the Piramal Group's real estate development arm, Piramal Realty, less than a month after Warburg Pincus committed INR18 billion ($284 million) to the company.
Religare reaches final close of $78m on first debt fund
Religare Credit Advisors has announced a final close of the domestic vehicle of its first debt fund, Religare Credit Opportunities Fund, at INR5.1 billion ($78 million).
Kalaari leads funding round for YourStory
Indian tech business news website YourStory has raised a Series A round led by Kalaari Capital, with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, Ratan Tata and T.V. Mohandas Pai.
India's VC-backed Mobikon buys Singapore's Trii.be
Indian customer engagement and marketing platform Mobikon, which is backed by Jungle Ventures, has bought Singapore's feedback management start-up Trii.be.
Global Environment Fund commits $11m to India's Concord
Global Environment Fund (GEF), the US-based cleantech-focused private equity firm, has invested $11 million in Indian wastewater treatment firm Concord Enviro Systems.
Carlyle invests in India's DEE Piping Systems
The Carlyle Group has made an investment of an undisclosed amount in Indian pipe manufacturing firm DEE Piping Systems.
LeapFrog takes part in $25m round for India's IFMR Holdings
LeapFrog Investments and Lok Capital have taken part in a $25 million funding round, led by global microfinance-oriented nonprofit Accion, for Indian non-banking finance company (NBFC) IFMR Holdings.
India's AgroStar raises $3.6m from IDG Ventures, Aavishkaar
IDG Ventures has led a $3.6 million funding round for Indian agriculture-focused mobile commerce firm AgroStar, with participation by existing investor Aavishkaar Venture Management Services.
Bessemer leads $50m round for Indian online grocer
Indian online grocer BigBasket has raised a $50 million funding round led by existing investor Bessemer Venture Partners.
Indian payments security start-up raises $7.5m Series B round
Indian online payment security system developer OneAssist has raised a $7.5 million Series B round led by US insurance firm Assurant, with participation by existing investors Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.