Expansion
Blackstone backs India’s Aakash Educational
The Blackstone Group has invested an undisclosed sum in New Delhi-based Aakash Educational Services with a view to building India’s largest digital omnichannel test preparation company.
TDM Growth leads $48m Series C for Australia's Rokt
TDM Growth Partners, an Australian GP that invests across public and private companies, has led a $48 million Series C round for local marketing technology supplier Rokt.
Chinese auto parts platform Casstime raises $80m
Sequoia Capital China and Source Code Capital have co-led a $80 million funding round – described as the first tranche of a Series C – for Chinese aftermarket car parts supplier Casstime.
Kirwood leads Series C for New Zealand fintech player
Kirwood Capital, a private equity firm that makes growth investments in Australia and New Zealand-based companies with global expansion prospects, has joined a NZ$25 million ($16 million) Series C round or digital lending platform Harmoney.
Naspers VC unit backs India's ElasticRun
Prosus Ventures, a VC unit of South African internet conglomerate Naspers, has led a $40 million investment in Indian logistics technology developer ElasticRun.
Qiming leads $21m Series C for Chinese lingerie brand
Neiwai, a Chinese lingerie brand, has achieved a valuation of more than RMB1 billion ($142 million) following a RMB150 million Series C round led by Qiming Venture Partners.
Goldman leads $62m Series D for China's Fountain Medical
Fountain Medical Development, a China-based contract research organization (CRO) that serves a global client base of drug developers, has received $62 million in Series D funding led by Goldman Sachs.
CDC backs Nepalese internet service provider
CDC Group has made its first equity investment in Nepal with a NPR1.35 billion ($12 million) commitment to WorldLink, the country’s largest private sector internet service provider.
Chinese online-offline retailer KK Group achieves unicorn status
Chinese retailer KK Group - formerly known as KK Guan - has raised a $100 million Series D led by an Alibaba Group-backed fund. N5 Capital, Matrix Partners China and Black Algae Capital all re-upped.
ARQ Capital backs Philippines dialysis business
ARQ Capital, a Philippines-based GP focused on the local small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, has invested an undisclosed sum in dialysis clinic operator Medline.
Chinese enterprise software player Ekuaibao receives $50m
Ekuaibao, a Chinese software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider specializing in corporate reimbursements, has raised $50 million in an extended Series C round.
Australia's Athena Home Loans gets $48m Series C
Australian financial technology start-up Athena Home Loans has raised A$70 million ($48 million) in Series C funding from a group of investors led by AustralianSuper.
Indonesia’s Alodokter gets $33m Series C
Indonesian insurer Sequis Life has led a $33 million Series C round of funding for Alodokter, a local super app operator that connects patients with doctors and healthcare information.
Australia’s Canva raises $85m at $3.2b valuation
Australia’s Canva has raised an $85 million growth round led by Bond Capital, the new vehicle of Silicon Valley veteran Mary Meeker. It values the graphic design start-up at $3.2 billion.
China apartment rental platforms: Illogical letting
Qingke, a Chinese long-term apartment rental operator, is looking to go public at a time when many of its peers are going out of business. Pursuing scale at the expense of sustainability is the core problem
Philippines PE: Power dynamics
A virtually impenetrable middle market under the control of incumbent conglomerates is the least governable of the systemic obstacles facing private equity hopefuls in the Philippines
Ant Financial invests $92m in Chinese e-signature provider
TSign – a China-based electronic signature service provider – has received RMB650 million ($92 million) in Series C funding led by Alibaba Group affiliate Ant Financial. Other investors include Gobi Partners and Eminence Ventures.
Actis commits $180m to China data center business
Actis has invested $64 million in Chinese data center operator Chayora and plans to commit up to $180 million to the company as part of a Series C funding round.
KKR, GIC to invest $680m in Philippines hospital operator
A KKR-led consortium has agreed to invest PHP35.3 billion ($680 million) in Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings (MPHH), prompting the Philippines-based hospital operator to abandon immediate plans for an IPO.
Deal focus: CDC gets comfortable in Bangladesh
Backing small business lender BRAC Bank and establishing an office in Dhaka is part of CDC Group's wider plan to more than double its exposure to Bangladesh over the next three years
Deal focus: Udaan signals India’s digital progress
B2B marketplace Udaan has achieved unicorn status faster than any of its illustrious Indian forbears. A readymade national broadband infrastructure certainly helped
VinaCapital invests Vietnam industrial supplier
A VinaCapital-led consortium will invest $21.4 million in Ngoc Nghia, a Vietnam-based plastics supplier that claims to be the largest local packaging materials producer of its kind.
Creador leads Series C for India's Kogta Financial
Creador has led a INR3 billion ($42 million) Series C round for Kogta Financial, a non-banking finance company (NBFC) looking to deepen its penetration in India’s central and western states.
India’s Oyo raises $700m in ongoing Series F
Indian hotel platform Oyo has raised $700 million from RA Hospitality Holdings, an entity controlled by founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal, as part of a Series F round targeting $1.5 billion.