Articles by Andrew Woodman
Unison sells Asahi Tec casting assets to India's Amtek Auto
Asahi Tec, a Japanese auto-parts supplier controlled by Unison Capital, has agreed to sell a portfolio of companies covering casting and forging to India's Amtek Auto.
LeapFrog to invest in Indonesia's Reliance Capital Management
Microfinance-focused investor LeapFrog Investments will lead a $45 million commitment to Reliance Capital Management, an Indonesian financial services provider. This is its first investment in the country.
Mitsui leads $21m round for India's Naaptol
Japanese trading house Mitsui has led a INR1.36 billion ($21 million) round for India home shopping and e-commerce start-up Naaptol Online Shopping. Existing investors New Enterprises Associates (NEA), Canaan Partners and Saama Capital also took part....
Singapore's TradeGecko seals Series A round
When brothers Cameron and Bradley Priest, and Carl Thompson, arrived in Singapore from New Zealand to join start-up accelerator JFDI.Asia in 2012, the idea was to create a mobile app that would connect e-commerce companies with third-party platforms through...
Indian LPs: Commitment issues
Proposed reforms of investment guidelines for India’s pension system suggest that more domestic capital could flow into the asset class. But is the country’s wider LP community really warming up to PE?
Japan's Rebright launches $20m fund for India start-ups
Rebright Partners - an early-stage investor backed by a consortium of Japanese internet companies - has formed a JPY2.4 billion ($20 million) fund to invest technology start-ups in India.
Singapore doctor discovery platform DocDoc raises $8.5m
DocDoc, the Singapore-based start-up behind the Asian doctor discovery platform of the same name, has raised a Series A round worth S$11.5 million ($8.5 million) from US and Korea-based SparkLabs Global Ventures, and Malaysian conglomerate Hong Leong...
Bangladesh-based SureCash gets $7m Series B round
Bangladeshi mobile banking and payments operator SureCash has raised a $7 million Series B round of funding from Asian frontier market investor Osiris Group.
SEBI considers allowing India VC funds to boost overseas exposure
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is to revise rules governing locally-registered VC funds, allowing them to invest up to a quarter of the their capital overseas - provided the companies hold some operations in India.
Sequoia leads $18m round for India handicraft site
Sequoia Capital has led an $18 million round for Indian online handicraft market place Craftsvilla.com. Global Founders Capital, a VC firm set up by Rocket Internet's Samwer brothers, also took part.
Australia's CHAMP PE hires ex-CVC executive
Australian GP CHAMP Private Equity has hired Graham Brooke, a former executive with CVC Capital Partners, as a managing director based in Sydney.
Integral, ANA agree joint sponsorship of Japan's Skymark
Tokyo-based private equity firm Integral Corp. has reached an agreement with local airline operator ANA Holdings to invest JPY18 billion ($150 million) in ailing Japanese carrier Skymark.
Bamboo Finance reaches $31m first close on financial inclusion fund
Impact private equity investor Bamboo Finance has reached a $31 million first close on its second financial inclusion-focused fund with commitments from Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA-CREF) and AXA-IM.
Profile: Kalaari Capital's Vani Kola
It has been nearly a decade since Vani Kola, managing director of Kalaari Capital, went from being Silicon Valley entrepreneur to an India venture capitalist. The big move appears to have paid off
Singapore's TradeGecko receives NSI, Jungle backing
Singapore-based inventory management platform TradeGecko has raised a $6.5 million Series A round of funding led by NSI Ventures and existing investor Jungle Ventures.
Japan crowd translation start-up raises $5.4m
Japan's Recruit Holdings has led a $5.4 million Series C round of funding for crowdsourced translation company Gengo.
Fosun to support Cirque du Soleil's China expansion
Chinese conglomerate Fosun International and TPG Capital have together acquired Canadian circus entertainment company Cirque du Soleil with a view to growing the business in China.
Brandon raises $154m for Australia life sciences fund
Australian life sciences-focused VC firm Brandon Capital has reached a A$200 million ($154 million) final close on its latest vehicle - the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund 3 (MRCF 3).
Temasek invests $151m in India's Glenmark Pharma
Singapore state-backed investment group Temasek Holdings has invested INR9.45 billion ($151 million) in India's Glenmark Pharma via a preferential allotment of shares.
Rakuten invests in VC-backed China discount site Fanli
Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten has bought a less than 10% stake in VC-backed Chinese discounts site Fanli in a Series C round of funding that values the business at about $1 billion.
India taxi-booking service Ola closes Series E round at $400m
Indian taxi-booking service Ola - operated by ANI Technologies - has closed its latest Series E round of funding at $400 million, valuing the company at $2.4 billion. The round was led by DST Global.
Japan's Dentsu launches $42m corporate venture fund
Japanese advertising agency Dentsu has established a new corporate venture capital arm, Dentsu Ventures, and launched a new fund with a corpus of JPY5 billion ($42 million).
NEA closes giant $2.8b global VC fund
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has reached a final close on its 15th global flagship fund at $2.8 billion, and raised an additional $350 for a new co-investment vehicle - NEA 15 Opportunity Fund.
L Capital faces legal action over Jones the Grocer
L Capital Asia is being sued in Singapore's high court over its decision appoint administrators to gourmet food retailer Jones the Grocer by the company's former CEO John Manos.