Articles by Andrew Woodman
J-Star promotes Satoru Arakawa to partner
Japanese mid-cap buyout firm J-Star has promoted Satoru Arakawa to the position of partner.
PE investor fails to oust Intrepid board over Indonesia mining dispute
Hong Kong-based PE firm Quantum Pacific Investment has failed in its attempt to remove the directors at Australia's Intrepid Mines after the company lost control of a key Indonesia mining asset.
Japanese, Chinese VCs provide $4.4m round for social site Muzy
The Silicon Valley-based venture capital arm of Japanese telecoms giant NTT Docomo, Docomo Capital, and Recruit Strategic Partners - the corporate VC arm of Japanese internet company Recruit Holdings - have teamed up with Chinese entrepreneurs to invest...
AID Partners-backed Prime Focus to open in China
Prime Focus, a global movie effects and entertainment company headquartered in India and backed by Hong Kong PE firm AID Partners Capital, is to open an office in Beijing.
Japan divestments still strong despite 'double-edged sword' of Abenomics
Corporate divestments continue to be a strong source of buyout deal flow in Japan, regardless of the impact of recently introduced economic reforms, according to Richard Folsom, co-founder and CEO of domestic GP Advantage Partners.
Hawkesbridge seeks Australian bottled water company exit
Hawkesbridge Capital is seeking a potential buyer for Noble Beverages, the Australian company behind the bottled water brand Pureau.The Sydney-based private equity firm made a succession play for the family-owned company back in 2004, acquiring a majority...
Tencent leads $150m financing round for Fab.com
Chinese internet group Tencent has led a $150m round of investment for US online design store Fab.com, in a fourth round of financing which is yet to close. The deal values the company at $1 billion, not including new capital raised.
AlpInvest's Hong Kong secondaries head steps down
AlpInvest has confirmed that the head of its secondaries team in Hong Kong, Neal Costello, has left the company after less than a year in the role.
Fidelity leads Series B round for India's Cloudbyte
Fidelity Growth Partners India has led a $4 million Series B round of investment in Cloudbyte, a company which provides cloud-storage solutions for online applications. Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Kae Capital also participated.
Q&A: Advantage Partners' Richard Folsom
Advantage Partners has experienced more than its fair share of Japan's highs and lows. Now as the country embarks on a new economic experiment, co-founder and CEO Richard Folsom shares his views on the state of PE
Shogun diplomacy: Corporate management in Japan
History shows that Japan's corporate elites rarely take kindly to private equity knocking down their door. How can the outside investor best woo potential partners?
Giant maintenance: PE and corporate Japan
Restructuring is a compelling story in Japanese private equity, but deal access is constrained by perception issues and government-linked competition. Will the there be anything left for foreign players?
KKR, Blackstone, Carlyle among bidders for SingTel Australia unit - report
KKR, The Blackstone Group and The Carlyle Group are said to have submitted first-round bids for Optus Satellite, the Australian satellite unit of Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel).
CHAMP, Headland seek to oust Miclyn directors
Headland Capital Partners and CHAMP Private Equity, majority shareholders of Miclyn Express Offshore, are looking to jettison two of the company's independent directors, saying the move would be in the interests of shareholders.
Cerberus challenges Seibu management ahead of annual meeting
Cerberus Capital Management has publicly questioned the management of railway and property group Seibu Holdings in a bid to gain support for its shake up of the company's board at a shareholders meeting later this month.
J-Star to close Fund II at $200m by end-June
Japanese mid-market GP J-Star will reach a final close on its JPY20 billion ($210 million) second fund by the end of this month, sources familiar with the matter told AVCJ.
Gree Ventures, MIC back $6m round for Japanese software firm
Gree Ventures and Mobile Internet Capital (MIC) have taken part in a JPY625 million ($6 million) investment round for Accounting SaaS Japan (A-SaaS), a developer of cloud-based accounting software.
Blackstone draws $1.5b in commitments for Asia property fund - report
The Blackstone Group has so far managed to attract $1.5 billion of capital commitments for its first Asia real estate fund, targeting $4 billion.
Providence Equity loses Asia MD - report
The head of Providence Equity Partners' Hong Kong office, Patrick Corso, has reportedly resigned. It is the fourth senior departure from the firm's Asian operation since it was established in 2007.
Navis plugs into Southeast Asia energy demand
Southeast Asia's hunger for energy cannot be overstated. Of the region’s 600 million inhabitants, a staggering 160 million live without electricity. According to a report published last year by the National University of Singapore’s Energy Studies Institute,...
Angels say SE Asia ripe for 500 Durians
Dave McClure, Silicon Valley super angel and founding partner of 500 Startups, was on the road in Asia once again this month as part of his firm’s “Geeks on a Plane” (GOAP) tour. While this was not the first time the tech-focused venture capital firm...
Japan's Marubeni scales back deal for PE-owned Gavilon
Marubeni has scaled back its offer for General Atlantic-owned US grain trader Gavilon by $1 billion after cutting the company's energy trading arm out of the deal.
Quadrant-backed Virtus Health jumps 9% on ASX debut
Shares in Virtus Health, an Australian in-vitro fertilization company backed by Quadrant Private Equity, closed up 9% at A$6.20 on its first day of trading on the Australian Securities Exchange. The IPO had been priced at the top end of the indicative...
Silicon Valley angels end first SE Asia tour in Indonesia
The Geeks on a Plane (GOAP) tour organized by Silicon Valley-based accelerator 500 Startups reaches its final leg in Indonesia this week. This is the first time one of the trips has focused specifically on Southeast Asia.