Investments
Deal focus: Prosperity7 supports gradual ascent to L4
Saudi Aramco-owned Prosperity7 Ventures has made two investments in Hyperview this year, based on appreciation for the company’s commercially oriented approach to autonomous driving
Japan buyouts: Bucking the trend
Japan remains a private equity hotspot despite muted buyout activity elsewhere in Asia. Take-private and sponsor-to-sponsor opportunities make for a more textured local market
Deal focus: Evermos extends impact to social commerce
Indonesia’s Evermos has more than doubled its total funding as investors see promise in a social commerce model that prioritises cottage industries and underemployed women
Q&A: Jafco Asia’s Shahan Sud
Singapore’s Jafco Asia, a division of Japanese VC mainstay Jafco, hired Shahan Sud last year as its first in-country investment director for India. He explains a cross-border bridge long in the making
Praxis invests $170m in Korea's Beyond Music
Korean private equity firm Praxis Capital has led a USD 170m investment in local music rights investment and management company Beyond Music.
EMIA backs Cambodia logistics provider
Singapore-based private equity investor Emerging Markets Investors Alliance (EMIA) has confirmed an investment of undisclosed size in Cambodia’s FWF Full Well and Nisshin Logistics.
India satellite imaging player Pixxel gets $36m Series B
Google is one of several new investors in a USD 36m Series B round for Pixxel, an India-based satellite imaging provider targeting climate change use cases. The company has now raised USD 71m in private funding to date.
Little Red Book invests in PE-backed Chinese coffee chain
M Stand - a China-based coffee shop chain with ambitions to become the Starbucks for China's younger generation - has raised an extended Series B round of several hundred million renminbi led by local social commerce platform Little Red Book.
DCP agrees carve-out of Cargill's China poultry unit
DCP Capital has agreed to buy the China-based poultry business of US-headquartered food and agriculture corporation Cargill for an undisclosed sum.
Singapore’s Capillary Technologies gets $45m Series D
India-founded and Singapore-headquartered retail industry software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Capillary Technologies has raised a USD 45m Series D round featuring India’s Avaatar Ventures.
Australia's GenesisCare files for US bankruptcy protection
GenesisCare, an Australia-headquartered cancer care provider in which KKR holds a minority stake, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and announced a restructuring that will separate US operations from those in Australia, Spain, and the UK.
Investor caution, bid-ask spreads hold back China secondaries
Secondaries investors see a lot of potential GP-led deal flow coming out of China, but completion rates are being held back by caution among buyers and a reluctance among sellers to compromise on valuations.
Australia’s Real Pet Food taps investors for equity injection
Hosen Capital, New Hope Group, and Temasek Holdings have led a AUD 248m (USD 161.2m) equity injection into Australia-based chilled pet food supplier Real Pet Food to pay down debt and support growth.
China energy storage player Fox ESS raises $141m
Fox ESS, a China-based energy storage company also known as Maitian Energy, has raised CNY 1bn (USD 141m) in a pre-IPO round led by Ori-mind Capital at a post-money valuation of more than CNY 10bn.
Singapore’s Temasek punishes staff for FTX investment
The investment and senior management of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings will receive reduced compensation in recognition of the write-down of an investment in collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX despite an independent internal review finding no evidence...
SAIC invests $382m in China solid-state battery player
China’s QingTao Energy Development, a VC-backed developer of solid-state lithium battery technology, has raised CNY 2.7bn (USD 382m) from local auto giant SAIC Motor.
Dymon backs take-private of Singapore’s Challenger Technologies
Dymon Asia Private Equity has launched a SGD 224m (USD 180m) take-private bid for Challenger Technologies in conjunction with the Singapore-listed electronics retailer's CEO.
Deal focus: U Power wins backing for EV turnkey proposition
China’s U Power has developed an integrated chassis as a cost-effective foundation on which electric vehicle makers can build their own creations. Government and independent investors are piling in
Deal focus: KKR brings impact to the classroom
EQuest Education has enlarged its K-12 school footprint in Vietnam through a string of acquisitions. KKR continues to support this consolidation effort via its global impact investment strategy
Deal focus: Chalo thinks beyond the bus stop
India bus-tracking app Chalo is helping fleet operators eliminate fraud and improve efficiency while giving passengers greater visibility on services. It is keen to scale – geographically and vertically
Asia private credit: Muffled momentum
The conservative virtues of private credit relative to private equity have come into fashion in a risk-off world. But global participation in the Asian side of the story will be limited
Deal focus: Go aims to bring Japan’s taxis up to speed
Goldman Sachs-backed taxi-hailing platform Go wants to address Japan’s taxi driver shortage and bring digitalisation to an industry that remains rooted in an analogue world
Square Peg leads round for India payments start-up
Australia’s Square Peg Capital has led a USD 10.2m pre-Series A round for India-based payments technology provider XFlow.
Prosperity7 backs China autonomous driving player Hyperview
Prosperity7 Ventures, a growth equity fund established by Saudi Arabia state oil giant Saudi Aramco, has invested in Hyperview, a China-based autonomous driving technology provider.