Buyouts
Samsung’s MRO sale flatters to deceive
Online shopping mall Interpark’s purchase of iMarketKorea from Samsung Group last week might be described as the deal that failed to live up to first impressions.
PE firms close in on Yahoo acquisition
Several prospective buyers of Yahoo have signed confidentiality agreements in order to get a closer look at the company’s finances.
ICICI Venture circles Videocon Industries unit
ICICI Venture, the private equity arm of India’s ICICI Bank, has expressed an interest in buying Videocon Industries’ direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast services unit, D2H.
PEP invests $670m in SCA's Australasian arm
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) has invested $670 million in a joint venture with Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) to develop the company’s Australasian arm, SCA Hygiene Australasia.
Southeast Asia takes on the neighbors
Southeast Asia is increasingly popular as an investment destination for private equity firms, but can it compete with China and India?
China MBOs: The problem with privatizations
With stock prices undervalued, company chairman and private equity investors are eyeing potential privatizations among US-listed Chinese companies. It isn’t as easy as it seems.
Harbin Electric shareholders approve MBO
Harbin Electric’s shareholders have approved a privatization bid for the company put forward by chairman and CEO Tianfu Yang and supported by Abax Global Capital. The deal, which received board backing in June, is expected to close within a week.
Interpark-led consortium buys iMarketKorea for $378m
A consortium led by Interpark, the Korean online shopping mall operator, has agreed to purchase Samsung Group’s procurement arm iMarketKorea in a deal worth more than KRW422 billion ($378.4 million). Private equity firm H&Q and the Korea Venture Business...
Anchorage exits NZ Burger King to Blackstone
It's a good time to be targeting turnarounds in Australasia. Private equity firms, hedge funds and investment banks are pursuing a host of opportunities in the consumer segment where companies have been hit hard by the seize-up in spending that followed...
Affinity buys Australian meats producer
Affinity Equity Partners has ramped up its consumer portfolio in Australia through a 70% stake acquisition in top deli meats producer Primo Smallgoods, for a price that values the company at A$740 million ($758 million).
Skylark exit helps consign buyout boom to history
With Skylark sold and Yayoi likely to follow it, Japan’s megadeals of 2006-2008 are finally being dismantled and the – relatively meager – profits returned to investors
PE firms lose out in bid for Samsung’s procurement arm
Online shopping mall operator Interpark has been named the preferred bidder for Samsung Group’s procurement arm iMarketKorea, beating private equity bidders including KKR and MBK Partners. The Interpark was previously said to be leading a consortium...
Advantage, Bain, Olympus in second-round bidding for Yayoi
Advantage Partners, Bain Capital and Olympus Capital have reportedly advanced into the second round of bidding for MBK Partners-owned Japanese accounting software developer Yayoi, which is expected to be one of the biggest sales in the market this year.
Bain acquires Japan's Skylark for $2.1b in equity
Bain Capital has officially acquired 100% of Japanese restaurant chain Skylark from Nomura Principal Finance for an equity value of JPY160 billion ($2.1 billion). It is the largest buyout in Japan since the onset of the global financial crisis.
Yahoo founder refuses to rule out sale to Alibaba, private equity
Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has refused to rule out the possible sale of the company to Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma or to a private equity interests. “There are plenty of options,” he told a conference in Hong Kong Wednesday.
Corporate Japan looks for growth overseas
Japanese companies need to take on the world. Local private equity professionals at the 2011 AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum Japan conference in Tokyo, which I am chairing, see globalization as the major current theme for corporate Japan. Indeed,...
KKR, MBK bid for Samsung’s procurement arm
KKR and MBK Partners are among the bidders for a majority stake in iMarketKorea, Samsung Group’s procurement arm. Based on Tuesday’s closing share price, the asset is worth KRW372 billion ($326 million).
Affinity picks up 70% stake in Australia’s Primo Smallgoods
Affinity Equity Partners has finalized its acquisition of Australian meat products firm Primo Smallgoods in a deal that values the company at A$740 million ($758 million). Previous reports suggested that the valuation was at least A$900 million.
Blackstone buys NZ Burger King franchise from Anchorage
The Blackstone Group has agreed to buy Antares Restaurant Group, which operates the Burger King franchise in New Zealand, from Anchorage Capital Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Carlyle-led group buys into Asian cinema digital server provider
A consortium led by The Carlyle Group has purchased an 80% stake in GDC Technology, Asia’s largest cinema digital server provider. The investment was led by the $1 billion Carlyle Asia Growth Partners IV and the other participants included Yunfeng Capital,...
Asia buyouts struggle as banks clamp down on lending
Buyout deals in Asia are becoming more difficult as banks hold back on lending. Rising capital costs have made lenders wary of the risks tied to mispricing a loan, leaving private equity firms to increase the cash portion of buyouts.
Third Quarter 2011: Venture capital deals steal the spotlight as buyouts wane
Third quarter analysis: Early-stage deals gain traction in Asia; mixed messages on China fundraising; weak public markets see trade and secondary sales thrive
Bain set to acquire Japan's Skylark for $3.4b
Bain Capital is finally set to acquire Japanese restaurant chain operator Skylark from Nomura Holdings for approximately JPY260 billion ($3.4 billion) including debt, after more than six months of delays.
Lone Star Korea's former head Paul Yoo files court appeal
Paul Yoo, former head of Lone Star in Korea, has appealed to Korea’s Supreme Court over his conviction for manipulating the stock price of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) in 2003, Dow Jones reported.