Investments
PE and funeral services: Untapped eternity
Increased urgency around demographic tailwinds in the funeral services space has coincided with a spate of investment activity in recent years. Private equity could be well positioned to play a leading role
India: Draining the PIPEs
PIPE deals remain a significant part of private equity in India, but a slowdown in recent years has prompted investors to evaluate strategies and the place for public market deals in private portfolios
India's Updater Services gets $15m from Motilal Oswal
Motilal Oswal Private Equity (MOPE) has invested INR1 billion ($15 million) in Indian facilities management company Updater Services.
Sequoia leads $10m round for India's Belong
Sequoia Capital India has led a $10 million Series B funding round for Bengaluru-based online recruitment platform provider Belong.
IFM invests Australian fashion retailer
IFM Investors’ private equity arm has acquired a significant minority stake in Colette By Colette Hayman, an Australian retailer of handbags and fashion accessories.
IDFC exits India's Essar Power for $87.1m
IDFC Alternatives has fully exited its stake in Indian power plant operator Essar Power for INR5.8 billion ($87.1 million).
KKR invests in China’s Gambol Pet Group
KKR has invested in Gambol Pet Group, a China-based company that sells pet food products.
INCJ, First Eastern in partial exit from Japanese airline
Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) and Hong Kong-based First Eastern Investment Group have agreed to sell a combined 28.3% holding in Japanese airline Peach Aviation for JPY30.4 billion ($271 million).
IFC considers $100m investment in Indian solar
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has proposed a $100 million investment in Indian infrastructure-focused non-banking financial company (NBFC) L&T Infrastructure Finance (LTIF) to support solar energy projects in the country.
China bike-sharing start-up Bluegogo raises $58m
Chinese bike-sharing start-up Bluegogo has raised a RMB400 million ($58 million) funding round led by domestic GP Black Hole Capital.
US online lender SoFi raises $500m to expand in Australia
US online lender and financial services company SoFi has secured a $500 million Series F funding round led by Silver Lake for an expansion effort into Australia.
MBK to buy Korean gas business from Goldman consortium
MBK Partners has agreed to buy Daesung Industrial Gases from a Goldman Sachs-led consortium that has majority-owned the South Korean industrial gas manufacturer since July 2014.
Kickstart, BPI invest in Zalora Philippines alongside parent
Kickstart Ventures and BPI Capital have joined their parent Ayala Group to buy a 49% stake in the Philippines business of online fashion retailer Zalora.
China P2P car rental site Atzuche raises $58m Series C
Atzuche, a Shanghai-based peer-to-peer (P2P) car rental start-up, has completed a RMB400 million ($58 million) Series C round of funding.
Soft middle: Australia's underserved lower middle market
Fewer GPs are targeting Australia's lower middle market as a result of increasing fund sizes and the difficulties local LPs have writing small-ticket checks. The arrival of new PE firms is encouraging, but they aren't necessarily positioned to fill this...
Oaktree merges Fitness First Asia with Navis-owned gym business
The Hong Kong and Southeast Asia business of Fitness First, which is controlled by Oaktree Capital Management, has agreed to merge with Celebrity Fitness, a Southeast Asia gym operator owned by Navis Capital Partners.
IDG Capital invests in CreditEase's insurance unit
CreditEase Insurance Agency, an insurance unit of China’s CreditEase Wealth Management, has raised RMB80 million ($12 million) from investors including IDG Capital through a private placement on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ).
AirTree leads $19m investment in Australia's Prospa
AirTree Ventures has led a A$25 million ($19.2 million) investment in Australian financial technology company Prospa.
US materials group gets $15m for China, Korea push
A group of investors including GSR Ventures has committed $15 million to C3Nano, a US-based supplier for the touchscreen and digital display industry looking to expand its footprint in China and Korea.
Hong Kong AR player Banuba raises $5m
Banuba, a Hong Kong-based developer of technologies for augmented reality (AR) mobile applications, has raised $5 million from VP Capital and Larnabel Ventures.
Shanda leads $5.6m round for Indonesia's Nida
Indonesian hotel reservation services provider Nida Rooms has raised a $5.6 million Series A round of funding led by China’s Shanda Group.
China healthcare platform Anxin Doctor raises $29m
Beijing-based Anxin Doctor, a mobile app focused on pediatric and women's healthcare, has completed a RMB200 million ($29 million) Series B round of funding across two tranches.
Australia mining: Desert stirrings
A stronger commodity price environment has spurred some opportunistic private equity investment in Australian mining services, but caution remains the mantra in this industry of capricious value drivers
China's Ant Financial invests $200m in Kakao payment unit
Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of China’s Alibaba Group, has agreed invest $200 million in a dedicated mobile finance platform that will soon be launched by South Korean internet giant Kakao Corp.