Expansion
KKR takes 24% stake in China blood banker
It is a newborn child's first-ever insurance policy: Cord blood, rich in stem cells, is taken from the umbilical cord shortly after birth and placed into storage, only to be used if the child is later stricken by a serious illness. Cord blood can help...
TA continues India spree by backing BillDesk
TA Associates' decision to establish a permanent India presence appears to be paying off. The firm’s first investment in the country was completed in 2006 but four of its five deals have come since the Mumbai office opened in late 2009. BillDesk, an online...
First quarter analysis: Asia struggles to locate its exits groove
Little to cheer in the exit landscape; China growth deal pipeline continues to weaken; India telecom tower buyout not a sign of things to come
Bamboo Finance backs Greenlight Planet in $4m round
Bamboo Finance has invested in Greenlight Planet, a manufacturer of solar-powered lanterns, in a $4 million funding round alongside existing investor P.K. Sinha, co-founder of ZS Associates.
KKR invests $65m in Chinese cord blood bank operator
KKR has agreed to invest $65 million into China Cord Blood Corporation (CCBC), the largest umbilical cord blood banking operator in China. It is the private equity firm’s first foray into the country’s fast-growing healthcare services industry. CCBC will...
Manipal Hospitals to raise $29m from private equity
Manipal Hospitals, India’s third largest healthcare group, is seeking as much as INR1.5 billion ($29 million) from private equity firms for a minority stake in order to fund expansion.
Frontline Strategy backs India railways supplier
Frontline Strategy’s India Industrial Growth Fund (IIGF) has committed $9 million to DTL Ancillaries, a Pune-based company that manufactures components used in the rail and automotive industries. The investment is structured in two tranches, the first...
TA Associates backs Indian online payment provider
TA Associates has acquired a minority stake in BillDesk, India’s leading online payment services provider. The investment, terms of which were not disclosed, is seen as a means of leveraging both increasing internet penetration in the country and growing...
Vision Knight's value-add proposition
Much is expected of China's online advertising industry. Worth RMB51 billion ($8.1 billion) in 2011, up 57% year-on-year, the market is tipped to top RMB187 billion by 2015. As former CEO of Alibaba.com, the country’s leading B2B marketing portal, David...
India Agri Business Fund backs Super Agri Seeds
Rabo Equity Advisors’ India Agri Business Fund has committed INR500 million ($9.8 million) to Super Agri Seeds for a significant minority stake. It is the fund’s eighth investment and the first in a seeds company.
F&H backs Song brothers' singing school
Ask Chinese music fans to name famous Singaporean exports, and they’re likely to mention Stephanie Sun and JJ Lin. Aside from both being hugely popular in China’s Mando-pop scene, what each of these singers has in common is that they were both trained...
MSPE Asia secures its largest ever Asia deal
Supporting domestic companies keen to expand into overseas markets has become a core element of most PE investors’ China strategies. Morgan Stanley Private Equity (MSPE) Asia found the prospect of working on such efforts with Tianhe Chemicals Group sufficiently...
New Silk Route mulls Adiga's deal
Growth capital firm New Silk Route Partners is in talks to buy a sizable stake in Adiga's, a chain of south Indian vegetarian restaurants and fast food joints.
Warburg Pincus, TPG-backed Neiman Marcus enters China
Neiman Marcus Group, the US luxury retailer owned by Warburg Pincus and TPG Capital, has invested $28 million for a minority stake in Hong Kong-based luxury e-commerce site Glamour Sales.
MSPE Asia invests $300m in China's Tianhe Chemicals
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPE Asia) has invested $300 million in China’s Tianhe Chemicals Group and created a strategic partnership with the specialty chemicals company in order to aid its expansion overseas. It is the largest single investment...
GIC commits $100m to Indian eye-care chain
Already worth $40 billion and expected to double in size with compound annual growth of 21%, India’s healthcare market is certainly on the radar of private equity investors. Hospitals and treatment centers – a play on rising domestic consumption and perceived...
Blue Sky boosts Alcidion with $2.8m - report
Listed fund manager Blue Sky Alternative Investments has funneled A$2.6 million ($2.8 million) of capital into Australian health informatics firm Alcidion.
F&H invests in Wise Entertainment
F&H Fund Management has invested in Singapore's Wise Entertainment - a company named after the city state's twin composers and music producers Lee Wei Song and Lee Si Song (Wei) and (Si).
WestSummit backs China's Union Optech
China-based technology investor WestSummit Capital has led a funding round for Chinese optical lens provider Union Optech.
GIC commits $100m to Vasan Healthcare
Government of Singapore Investment Corp. (GIC) has invested $100 million for a minority stake in Vasan Healthcare, which runs eye care hospitals across India. The transaction is the largest PE deal in the country's healthcare industry since Olympus Capital’s...
Everstone in talks with Indian spa salon operator
Everstone Capital is negotiating the purchase of a majority stake in Indian spa salon chain You Look Great (YLG). Helion Venture Partners, an existing investor in the company, is also participating in the talks.
TVS, IFC back Dunar Foods with $25m
TVS Capital and International Finance Corp. (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, have invested INR1.24 billion ($25 million) for a minority stake in Indian basmati rice supplier Dunar Foods.
Cross-border consumer forces
A combination of risk and escalating valuations make some consumer-oriented investors wary of Indonesia. Building a scalable brand elsewhere in the region is a lower-risk route into the country
Indonesia investment: Uncharted territory
For all its attractions, Indonesia remains a difficult – and expensive – market for foreign private equity firms. Identifying value rests on building up local knowledge and expertise