Buyouts
Alibaba in bumper Yahoo buyback
New and existing private equity investors acquire much-sought-after stakes in Alibaba Group as the e-commerce firm repurchases part of Yahoo’s stake in a $7.6 billion deal
Navis acquires Malaysia’s BIG Cinemas
Navis Capital Partners has acquired a 100% stake in Malaysian exhibition business BIG Cinemas from film and entertainment services company Reliance MediaWorks (RMW).
INCJ-led consortium may thwart KKR’s Renesas pledge
Japanese state-sponsored fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) has formed a consortium with several local companies, which is said to be mulling making an offer of more than JPY100 billion ($1.3 billion) for the unprofitable Tokyo-listed chipmaker,...
TA Associates acquires Hong Kong-based SpeedCast for $32m
TA Associates has completed the buyout of SpeedCast, a Hong Kong-based network and satellite communications service provider, from Asia Satellite Telecommunications for $32.2 million. Company management is also participating through ownership of a small...
Carlyle’s General Lighting completes Malaysia acquisition
General Lighting (GLC), a Saudi Arabia-based portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, has agreed to buy Davex, Malaysia’s largest lighting fixtures manufacturer and supplier, for MYR183 million ($60 million). The company sees the acquisition as a platform...
TPG’s Billabong rival abandons bid
TPG Capital’s rival bidder for Australian surfwear company Billabong International has dropped out of the running. Billabong only identified the group that offered to match TPG’s A$694 million ($709 million) buyout bid as a private equity firm. According...
Australian PE firm participates in $1b Dubai oil driller deal
Australian GP CHAMP Private Equity has teamed up with its US affiliate Castle Harlan and Lime Rock Partners to invest around $1.05 billion in Dubai-based shallow water drilling services company Shelf Drilling.
CVC’s Australia head resigns
CVC Capital Partners’ Adrian MacKenzie, the managing partner responsible for investments in Australia, has resigned. The move comes as the private equity firm prepares to write off almost the entire A$1.9 billion ($1.97 billion) in equity that was pumped...
PE firms, sovereign funds support Alibaba’s Yahoo buyback
China Investment Corporation (CIC), Boyu Capital, CITIC Capital and CDB Capital participated in a $3.9 billion equity issue by Alibaba Group alongside existing investors including Silver Lake, DST Global and Temasek Holdings. The financing was used to...
Global buyout firms see rich pickings in Japan – AVCJ Forum
The scope for private equity buyouts in Japan is widening due to falling public market valuations and clear opportunities for value-add within portfolio companies, according to panelists at the AVCJ Japan Forum, which opened in Tokyo on Thursday.
CITIC PE backs $331m take-private bid for China’s 3SBio
CITIC Private Equity is supporting a $331 million management buyout offer for NASDAQ-listed Chinese pharmaceuticals company 3SBio. It is the latest in a string of attempted take-private deals for US-traded Chinese firms that for a variety of reasons are...
Carlyle-backed Haier offers $705m for Fisher & Paykel
Carlyle-backed Haier Group has put in a NZ$869 million ($705 million) buyout offer for Fisher & Paykel Appliances (F&P), the New Zealand-based kitchen and appliance manufacturer. The Chinese company is willing to pay NZ$1.20 per share in cash - a 15.4%...
Banks invited to finance PE-backed Focus Media buyout - report
Banks in Asia are reportedly being approached to provide up to $1.7 billion in financing for the private equity-backed management buyout of NASDAQ-listed Focus Media Holding.
GPs' optimism: Korea redux
Despite a few issues, South Korea has always been a favored market for Asian private equity investors. That is hardly surprising as the many of the best performing transactions in the history of the asset class in Asia have come out of Korea. It could...
Warburg Pincus gets FIPB approval for Future Capital deal
Warburg Pincus has won approval from India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for a INR8.08 billion ($145 million) investment in non-bank finance company (NBFC) Future Capital Holdings.
Advantage Partners poised for Rex Holdings exit
Advantage Partners is preparing to exit a 66% holding in Japanese restaurant operator Rex Holdings to Colowide. Local media said the transaction, worth JPY13.7 billion ($175 million), would close as early as October.
Rival PE firm matches TPG’s $709m Billabong offer
A rival private equity firm – reportedly Bain Capital – has offered to match TPG Capital’s A$694 million ($709 million) buyout bid for Australian surfwear company Billabong International. The Billabong board maintains that neither offer reflects...
The sun is rising again for Japanese private equity
Is the Japanese private equity industry finally turning the corner? The simple answer to that is yes.
Secondaries in Japan: A new wave?
Japan’s megadeals of 2006-2007 need to be exited or refinanced. With IPOs off the agenda due to weak public markets and strategic investors’ appetites uncertain, secondary buyouts are a popular option.
Murdoch fund takes full ownership of DMG Radio Australia
Illyria, a private investment vehicle run by Lachlan Murdoch, son of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, has taken full ownership of DMG Radio Australia after acquiring the 50% it didn’t already own from UK-based media company Daily Mail and General Trust...
Japan Industrial Partners buys Olympus’ mobile telecom unit
Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), a Tokyo-based private equity firm specializing in business restructuring, has bought the mobile-phone retailing business run by Olympus Corp’s ITX unit for JPY53 billion ($676 million).
Crescent wins investor support after raising ClearView offer
Crescent Capital Partners has improved its buyout offer for Australian financial services provider ClearView Wealth, winning the support of leading shareholder Guinness Peat Group (GPG). The private equity firm is now offering A$0.55 per share, up from...
Permira buys Japan’s Sushiro from Unison
Global buyout firms see potential in cash-rich Japanese corporations that can be guided overseas.
Permira acquires Unison’s stake in Akindo Sushiro for $1b
Permira, through its Ireland-based vehicle Consumer Equity Investments (CEIL), has acquired Unison Capital’s stake in Akindo Sushiro, a leading Japanese sushi restaurant. The deal values the company at $1 billion, including debt.