Articles by Susannah Birkwood
AVCJ China Awards: VC Professional of the Year – Bo Feng
Bo Feng, founding partner of Ceyuan Ventures, on the treats and trials of VC investing in China
Australia's old media: Where did it all go wrong?
Traditional media in Australia has been colonized by buyout houses since 2006, but a number of these assets are now in distress. Can private equity use this situation to its advantage?
Unitas in timely bet on Korea's outdoor market
As in most proprietary deals, timing was everything when it came to Unitas’ most recent investment. By fortuitous coincidence, the Asia-focused private equity firm approached Korean outdoor apparel and equipment manufacturer NEPA at the very moment that...
KKR funds $22m Air Works bolt-on
KKR has provided Air Works India Engineering with INR1.2 billion ($22 million) of structured debt financing to help fund its acquisition of Dubai-based private aviation specialist Empire Aviation Group (EAG).
CVC leads investment in HK-listed Chinese shoe company
CVC Capital Partners has led a PIPE investment in Chinese footwear company C.banner. China Consumer Capital Partners and MouseeDragon also participated in the round.
OneVentures backs Paloma Mobile with $1.5m
Australia-focused venture capital firm OneVentures has led a $1.5 million Series A round of funding for Paloma Mobile, a developer of smartphone services for emerging markets.
Indonesian pay-TV operator targets $260m IPO
PT MNC Skyvision has reduced the fundraising expectations for its IPO this summer from $400 million to $260 million. Saban Capital Group was previously reported to have expressed interest in becoming an anchor investor.
Accion, Pragati India boost Saija Finance with $4m
Accion and Pragati India Fund have invested $4.5 million in Indian microfinance company Saija Finance. The funding will enable the firm to make acquisitions.
Kaizen injects $4m in Indian childcare provider
Education-focused PE firm Kaizen Management Advisors has invested INR200 million ($4 million) in Indian childcare services provider Your Kids ‘R’ Our Kids (YKROK).
Lilly ups stake in Chinese pharma firm
Lilly Asian Ventures, the venture capital arm of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co., has injected an additional $20 million of capital into existing portfolio company Novast.
Blackrock hires Asia Pacific vice-chair
BlackRock has hired Philipp Hildebrand as vice chairman for Asia Pacific and EMEA. He will oversee the firm’s largest institutional client relationships in these regions.
Palatine-backed Air Energi bolts on Indonesia's Satoil
Air Energi, a portfolio company of Palatine Private Equity, has purchased the technical consulting and professional manpower division of Indonesian oil services company Satoil.
Unitas invests $164m in Korean outdoor brand
Unitas Capital has injected KRW190 billion ($162.4 million) into NEPA, a Korean outdoor apparel and equipment manufacturer and retailer, through a capital increase.
VCs park their cash in Indian taxi firms
Venture investment in Indian taxi companies is no new phenomenon, but the profile of the firms which are commanding capital appears to be changing
Private investors back IPO of Khazanah's healthcare arm
Blackrock, Capital Group and Och-Ziff Capital Management Group have agreed to become cornerstone investors in the proposed $2 billion IPO of Malaysia's Integrated Healthcare Holdings (IHH), which is owned by Khazanah Nasional.
Apax, Bain in race for $1.4b Genpact stake
Apax Partners and Bain Capital are reportedly competing for the 41% stake in Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) company Genpact being sold by Oak Hill Capital and General Atlantic (GA). The stake is valued at $1.4 billion, which could make this...
Samara injects $32m in Monte Carlo Fashions
US-based private equity firm Samara Capital has invested INR1.75 billion ($32 million) for an 18% stake in India’s Monte Carlo Fashions.
Sequoia to reap 18% return on Cafe Coffee Day sale
Sequoia Capital India is targeting returns of 16-18% on its impending exit from Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading, a unit of India’s Coffee Day Group.
Maui Capital closes fund at $190m hard-cap
Maui Capital has closed its Aqua fund at its hard-cap of NZ$250 million ($190 million). The New Zealand-based private equity firm had to turn away some larger investors.
SBI, FMO launch $80m financial services fund
Japan's SBI Holdings and Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) have jointly rolled out a new fund that will invest in financial services across emerging Asia. The SBI-FMO Emerging Asian Financial Services Fund is targeting up to $80 million in...
Art and wine funds: The Passion Portfolio
The increase in wealth creation in China has created a generation of HNW individuals intent on investing in art. But can the momentum behind this so-called emotional asset class be sustained?
Nanostart ups stake in MINT
Nanostart Asia Pacific has increased its stake in Singaporean cleantech firm Membrane Instruments and Technologies (MINT) from 18% to 28%.
Blackstone gets co-investment rights in HK hedge fund
Private equity giant Blackstone Group has upped its exposure to Asia-focused hedge fund Senrigan Capital. By injecting a further $50 million into the vehicle, it will be able to co-invest with Senrigan on a number of projects.
Ontario Teachers win Kyobo Life stake - update
Canada's Ontario Teachers Pension Plan has become the preferred bidder for a stake in Kyobo Life Insurance edging out other interested party, Affinity Equity Partners. Contrary to earlier media reports, the pension fund did not team up with existing shareholder...