Buyouts
Investment: Southeast Asia's family footholds
By most measures, Southeast Asia is under-penetrated by private equity. If deal flow expectations are to be met, investors must tap local networks for openings in and around the family conglomerates
Q&A: PAG's Weijian Shan
Weijian Shan, chairman and CEO of PAG, discusses China exit challenges, dealing with company founders in control investment situations, and picking businesses that are less likely to be swamped by local competition
Exits: Stuck in China
The weak IPO market has left many China PE firms holding assets for longer than expected. While growth deals will remain dominant, there will be change in how and with whom they are done
Headland launches $357m Kreuz takeover offer
Hong Kong- based PE firm Headland Capital Partners has launched a takeover offer for Singapore-listed Kreuz Holdings, a subsea services provider to the offshore oil and gas industry. Under the terms of the proposed agreement, all outstanding shares of...
Carlyle buys global real estate platform
The Carlyle Group has completed the acquisition of Metropolitan Real Estate Equity Management (MREEM), a real-estate fund-of-funds business with more than $2.6 billion in capital commitments. Equity for the transaction came from Carlyle's balance sheet...
China Asset Management-led consortium reduces iSoftStone bid
The private equity consortium seeking to privatize US-listed Chinese IT services provider iSoftStone Holdings has reduced its offer for the company following a second-quarter loss and warnings of more difficulties to come. The revised offer values iSoftStone...
Apollo, Oaktree-owned Nine Entertainment targets $658m IPO
Australian TV network Nine Entertainment - which is backed by US hedge funds Oaktree Capital Group and Apollo Global Management - is looking to raise up to A$697 million ($658 million) in its IPO set for December. The capital raised will be use to pay...
Taiwan's Chinatrust to buy Tokyo Star Bank for $530m
CTBC Financial, the parent company of Taiwan's Chinatrust Commercial Bank, is to buy a 98.16% stake in Tokyo Star Bank for JPY52 billion ($530 million) from US private equity firm Lone Star and other creditors-turned-shareholders. It will be the first...
CVC poised to buy China restaurant chain South Beauty - report
CVC Capital Partners is said to be nearing an agreement to buy a majority stake South Beauty Group, a Chinese restaurant chain, for around $300 million.
Ant Capital acquires Japanese shoe maker MoonStar
Ant Capital has acquired a majority stake in 140-year-old Japanese shoe maker MoonStar from the founding family and other shareholders. Financial details were not disclosed.
J-Star makes sweet exit from Tokachi
Gifts are a big part of Japanese tradition. Whether you are making an introduction, expressing thanks or simply marking a change in the seasons, an exchange of gifts is usually required. A large section of the country’s consumer sector relies on providing...
Ant Capital exits cream puff maker Beard Papa
Ant Capital is exiting its 100% stake in Muginoho Holdings, the company behind Japanese cream puff brand Beard Papa, to instant food giant Nagatanien for JPY9.44 billion ($96 million).
KKR considers bid for Australia's Regis Aged Care - report
KKR is said to be interested in buying Macquarie Group’s take in Regis Aged Care, one of Australia's largest private senior care home operators. There is significant private equity interest in the aged care space, which is seen as ripe for consolidation....
PEP-backed Veda Advantage targets IPO
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) is hoping to raise as much as A$340 million ($326 million) through a sale of new shares as it looks to launch the Australian IPO of credit-checking firm Veda Advantage this December.
Quadrant to buy APN's share of advertising JV for $67m
Quadrant Private Equity is set to buy joint venture partner APN News & Media's interest outdoor advertising venture APN Outdoor for A$69 million ($66.5 million).
CITIC oils Stackpole's China wheels
The oil pumps use to lubricate engine parts and reduce friction come in two forms: fixed and variable. The first are usually oversized to handle the harshest operating conditions and therefore deliver higher average oil pressure and consume more power...
Quadrant eyes aged care consolidation
Quadrant Private Equity completed its exit from New Zealand retirement village operator Summerset last week but demographics remain a prominent theme in the firm’s portfolio with the acquisition of Estia Health, an Australian aged-care provider.
All about Korea
More than 10 years and a host of bank turnarounds and corporate restructurings ago, South Korea was Asia’s most active private equity market. According to AVCJ Research, $3.1 billion was deployed in the country in 2000, comfortably ahead of second-placed...
PE firms bid for South Korea's Woori assets
Several private equity firms have submitted bids for parts of Woori Finance Holdings in the second of three separate auctions intended to finally dispose of the Korean government’s interest in the business.
Hutchison Whampoa abandons Parknshop sale plan
Hutchison Whampoa has abandoned plans to sell Hong Kong supermarket chain ParknShop, after it had reportedly attracted bids from the likes of KKR, TPG Capital and a number of strategic investors.
China's Pactera agrees to $625m Blackstone-led take-private
Pactera Technology International has agreed to be taken private by a consortium led by The Blackstone Group that values the NASDAQ-listed Chinese tech outsourcing firm at approximately $625 million. Existing investor GGV Capital is also participating...
Apax adds to global outsourcing exposure
"Including GlobalLogic, Apax funds would have invested about $1.5 billion of equity in the outsourcing space in a number of transactions around the world," says Shashank Singh, partner at Apax Partners and head of their India office. "Technology spend...
3Q analysis: Haves and have nots
Third quarter analysis: Fundraising fortunes become ever more polarized; Korea continues to be the stand-out buyout market, while India shows growth from a very low base; China IPOs are on the comeback trail
Northstar Group picks up ERA regional master franchise
Northstar Group has completed the acquisition of the Asia Pacific master franchise rights for property agency ERA from Hersing Corporation. It follows the Southeast Asia-focused GP's purchase of ERA franchise in Singapore from the same seller two months...