Investments
Deal focus: Confidence unwavering in SE Asia e-commerce
Singapore online shopping platform ShopBack hopes to extend a fledgling theme of Southeast Asian IPOs in the US amid threats to discretionary spending in its core markets
SeaTown invests $50m in Vietnam e-commerce enabler
SeaTown Holdings International, an alternatives manager owned by Temasek Holdings, has provided a USD 50m Series B round for Vietnamese e-commerce enabler OnPoint.
Southeast Asia logistics player Deliveree raises $80m
Gobi Partners and SPIL Ventures – the corporate venture capital arm of shipping business Salam Pacific Indonesia Lines – have led a USD 70m Series C round for Southeast Asia-focused logistics marketplace Deliveree.
Asia Partners leads $80m round for Singapore's ShopBack
Singapore’s Asia Partners has led a USD 80m growth round for local e-commerce and retail rewards platform ShopBack.
China RNA vaccine developer raises $42m
Therorna, a China-based biotech company specializing in vaccines and drugs based on circular RNA technology, has raised USD 42m in Series A funding.
AstraZeneca-CICC fund backs China gene sequencer
Axbio, a China-based provider of gene sequencing and diagnostic systems, has raised nearly USD 100m in Series B funding led by AstraZeneca-CICC Healthcare Industrial Fund and Yunfeng Capital.
China bio-manufacturing start-up Mojia raises $80m
Temasek Holdings has led a USD 80m Series B round for Shanghai-based bio-manufacturing start-up Mojia Biotech.
NewQuest, Prosus lead $90m Series E for India's Cashify
NewQuest Capital Partners and Prosus Ventures have led a USD 90m Series E round for India’s Cashify, a marketplace for used smart phones and gadgets.
5Y leads $74m round for China AI drug developer
Beijing-based HeliXon, an artificial intelligence-enabled developer of protein-based drugs, has raised CNY 500m (USD 75m) in Series A funding led by 5Y Capital. Other investors include Gaorong Capital and Neumann Capital.
Openspace, VI Group lead $25m round for Vietnam's Finhay
Openspace Ventures and VI Group have led a USD 25m Series B round for Vietnamese digital investment platform Finhay.
Platinum Equity buys Hong Kong lingerie business Hop Lun
US-based private equity firm Platinum Equity has agreed to acquire Hop Lun, a Hong Kong-headquartered producer of fashion lingerie and swimwear that serves a global client base.
Malaysia's RPG Commerce raises $29m Series B
East Ventures has led a USD 29m Series B round for Malaysia-based direct-to-consumer (DTC) social e-commerce company RPG Commerce.
India-focused neobank Stashfin raises $270m
Stashfin, a Singapore-based neobank that primarily operates in India, has raised USD 70m in equity funding – and secured a further USD 200m in debt – as part of a Series C round.
L Catterton seals $360m Asia strip sale
A Hamilton Lane-led consortium has agreed to support a USD 360m continuation fund comprising structured minority interests in investments held by consumer sector specialist L Catterton’s third Asian fund.
China fashion software platform Linctex raises $100m
Linctex Digital, a Shanghai-based design services platform for the fashion industry, has raised an extended pre-Series B round of nearly USD 100m from GL Ventures and CDH Investments.
India's LeadSquared raises $153m Series C
Indian customer relationship management software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider LeadSquared has raised a USD 153m Series C round led by WestBridge Capital at a post-money valuation of USD 1bn.
Singapore e-commerce aggregator gets $45m
Singapore’s Rainforest, an aggregator of Amazon marketplace sellers, has raised a USD 45m round led by Southern Capital, which provided USD 15m.
Deal focus: Software Combined sees sense in aggregation
Backed by majority owner Navis Capital Partners, Australia-based Software Combined wants to reach up to USD 35m of EBITDA within three years through acquisitions of smaller B2B players
Deal focus: TH Capital identifies key niche in energy storage
Zhongchu Guoneng Technology is leading China’s push into compressed air energy storage as a means of harnessing fast-rising yet unstable wind and solar capacity. Tsinghua Holdings Capital is among the backers
Deal focus: Pakistan's Dastgyr aspires to emulate Alibaba
SOSV sees parallels between the e-commerce awakenings in Pakistan and China, though 20 years apart. Dastgyr has positioned itself at the fore, but it wants to be asset-light rather than asset-heavy
Indonesia blockchain player Ekta raises $60m
Indonesia’s Ekta, a blockchain ecosystem operator with a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace and eponymous cryptocurrency, has raised USD 60m from US-based Global Emerging Markets (GEM).
Australia's Infomedia entertains three buyout offers
Australia-listed automotive software supplier Infomedia has received its third buyout offer in the past two months, with PE-backed counterpart Solera proposing to acquire the business at a valuation of AUD 638.8m (USD 445m).
Infrastructure funds move towards software - Infralogic Forum
Software providers are set to become targets for infrastructure investors, provided companies can demonstrate sufficient customer stickiness to underpin consistent revenue streams, the Australia Infralogic Investors Forum heard.
India's ShareChat closes $520m round, hits $5b valuation
Indian social media platform ShareChat has raised USD 255m from Google, Times Group, and Temasek Holdings, capping a USD 520m Series G round at a valuation of USD 5bn.