Investments
2023 preview: India PE
India’s domestic growth story appears unobstructed, but some international investors could hold their fire. The local PE industry will not graduate to the next level without that foreign capital
2023 preview: China macro
Private equity is eager to re-engage with China as a sudden post-pandemic re-opening reminds investors focused on the country to expect the unexpected. A weak global picture could spoil the party
2023 preview: Australia PE
Market pressures on Australian businesses, including an increasingly serious labour shortage, are a challenge and opportunity for domestic private equity. So is China, but in less discernible ways
2023 preview: Southeast Asia VC
Southeast Asia VC is in fair position to hobble through a global downturn and cooling appetite for all things tech despite controversial politics in the region’s largest market and a dicey IPO outlook
2023 preview: Japan middle market
Confidence in Japan’s middle market is whipping up new deal flow, new funds, and new exit channels that will play out in 2023. This includes the possible reanimation of a dormant IPO market
China automotive chip company raises $43m
Indiemicro, a Chinese chip designer targeting the automotive industry has raised a CNY300m (USD 43m) round featuring semiconductor-focused Sunic Capital.
Q&A: Bain Capital’s David Gross-Loh
David Gross-Loh, a managing director and a founding member of the Asia business at Bain Capital, on expanding into Osaka, targeting large-cap carve-outs in Japan, and the availability of deal financing
2022 in review: End of the party?
Fundraising favours the few; deployment becomes progressively slower as investors agonise about valuations, macro prospects, and financing costs; sponsor-to-sponsor deals prop up exits
New Zealand's Partly gets $21m Series A
New Zealand’s Partly, a company that uses big data to source replacement parts for the global automotive industry, has raised a NZD 37m (USD 21m) Series A round led by UK-based Octopus Ventures.
Overallocation-driven secondary sales more talk than action – Coller
More LPs are considering sales of private equity positions via the secondary market as they find themselves overallocated to the asset class following sharp adjustments in public markets valuations, but Coller Capital has yet to see this translate into...
Australia's Potentia pursues two technology take-privates
Australia-based specialist B2B technology investor Potentia Capital appears to be continuing its pursuit of two listed companies – Nitro Software and Tyro Payments – despite several rejections.
China semiconductor player Eswin Material raises $576m
Eswin Material, the integrated circuit manufacturing unit of Eswin Technology Group, has raised CNY 4bn（USD 576m）in Series C funding led by the New Materials Fund of China National Building Material.
Korea's Google-backed Mathpresso raises $70m
Seoul-based education technology start-up Mathpresso has closed its Series C round on USD 70m following an investment of undisclosed size last year from Google.
Winter Capital leads $22.5m Series A for India's Uolo
Dubai-based Winter Capital has led a USD 22.5m Series A round for Indian education technology platform Uolo with support from local investor Blume Ventures.
Hillhouse buys Australia CRO George Clinical
Hillhouse Capital has agreed to buy George Clinical, an Australia-based clinical research organisation (CRO) with a global footprint, for an undisclosed sum.
China medical devices manufacturer LavaMed raises $40m
SuZhou LavaMed, a China-based medical devices manufacturer, has raised USD 40m in angel and Series A funding from Zhejiang Silk Road Fund, Junshang Capital, and Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV).
Goldman invests in KKR-owned Goodpack as part of refinancing
Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has made a structured investment in Goodpack, a Singapore-based container manufacturer controlled by KKR, as part of a broader refinancing transaction.
Japan's Sparx leads $50m round for Singapore IoT start-up
Japan’s Sparx Group has led an investment in Singapore-based internet-of-things (IoT) developer UnaBiz. It completes a USD 50m Series B round that started in October last year.
Square Peg, Wellington back Australia's Rokt at $2.4b valuation
Square Peg Capital and Wellington Management have led a AUD 750m (USD 501m) investment in Australian e-commerce marketing technology provider Rokt at a valuation of USD 2.4bn.
KKR-backed EQuest buys Vietnam school operator
EQuest Education, a Vietnam-based operator of bilingual schools backed by KKR, has acquired a controlling interest in industry peer Khoi Nguyen Education Group (KNE).
Australian needle-free vaccine start-up raises $23m
OneVentures and UniQuest have led a AUD 34m (USD 23m) funding round for Vaxxas, an Australia-based biotechnology company running clinical programmes that include a needle-free COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Temasek, A91, Kae back $135m round for India's HealthKart
Temasek Holdings, A91 Partners, and Kae Capital have invested USD 135m in Indian omnichannel wellness products retailer HealthKart.
Deal focus: Prosperity7 widens mandate with Australia’s Vow
Prosperity7 Ventures has well and truly escaped its energy sector roots, leading a hefty early-stage round for Australia’s Vow, a company making cell-cultured meat with a twist
Asia secondaries: Layers and structures
With private market valuations yet to see a meaningful reset in Asia and heightened risk factors in China, investors are exploring ways to drive secondary deal flow by closing the bid-ask spread