Big deals: Buyouts, tech transactions and the AVCJ Awards

Of the 19 left over, three of the top 10 have been announced within the last 12 months, including the two largest: the acquisition of GE's Australia and New Zealand consumer lending business by KKR, Deutsche Bank, and Varde Partners at an enterprise valuation of $6.3 billion; and now MBK Partners' purchase $6.4 billion of Homeplus - Tesco's South Korea unit - alongside co-investors Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Temasek Holdings and Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

Total private equity investment in Asia stands at $81.1 billion so far this year, according to AVCJ Research. With four months still to run, the $91 billion achieved in 2014 could be within reach, although perhaps not the record $99.8 billion seen in 2007. Last year, $44.2 billion was deployed in buyout transactions, just trailing the 2011 figure of $45.3 billion; the 2015 total through September 8 is close to $39 billion.

Much is made of the rising power of co-investment and the fact that CPPIB alone contributed $534 million to the Homeplus transaction suggests that there will be ample dry powder if deals of such magnitude are available in the future.

However, the list of the largest investments announced since October 1, 2014 - therefore making them potential candidates for the 2015 AVCJ Awards - tells more than just a buyout story. AVCJ Research has records of 75 deals worth $300 million or more, including 30 buyouts, 13 PIPE deals, and an astonishing 19 expansion rounds for technology start-ups.

A total of $35.1 billion has been pumped into early and expansion-stage companies in the technology, media and telecom and financial services sectors across more than 1,300 deals during the qualification period. (To put that in context, total private equity capital committed in Asia since October 1, 2014 stands at $99.9 billion.)

Of the tech investment, $24.5 billion has targeted approximately 80 deals of $100 million or more. Set the threshold at $300 million and those 19 investments account for $14.1 billion. Needless to say, several companies have received multiple rounds of funding: India's Flipkart appears in the top 75 twice, as does South Korea-based Coupang and China's Ele.me; China car-booking platform Kuaidi Didi is responsible for three entries, although until earlier this year it was two separate companies.

It was against this backdrop that AVCJ decided to split the awards category that has traditionally acknowledged tech start-ups into two, early stage and late stage (the latter for investments at an enterprise valuation in excess of $500 million). Buyouts will be recognized in the large-cap deal category like last year - although it is worth noting that sheer dollar value, while taken into consideration, is not the only benchmark.

For more information on the AVCJ Awards (for which nominations close on September 18), go to: www.avcjforum.com/awards.

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Technology
• Expansion
• buyout
• TMT
• Growth capital
• Asia
• AVCJ Awards