Investments
Daiwa SMBC Principal exits HMV Japan to Lawson
Lawson Inc., the Japanese convenience store chain operator, will acquire 100% of HMV Japan KK, the CD and DVD retail sales operation running under the UK’s HMV brand name, for JPY1.8 billion ($22.3 million) from Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments...
PE-invested Whitehaven Coal goes up for sale
Independent Australian coal mining corporation Whitehaven Coal, 27% invested by US PE firm First Reserve, will entertain acquisition bids in the light of ongoing interest from corporate suitors – a decision that could lead to an nearly A$3.5 billion ($3.4...
JPMorgan, GIC investee Ballarpur seeks paper listing on LSE
Ballarpur Industries, which claims to be India's largest paper manufacturer, plans to set up a new UK-incorporated holding company for its unit Ballarpur International Graphic Paper Holdings (BIGPH), 20.47% invested by JPMorgan Principal Investment and...
Actis sells 30% stake in China's Inpac to Finland's Stora Enso
UK-based private equity firm Actis has agreed to sell its 30% stake in Inpac, a premier printed paper packaging (PPP) manufacturer in China, to Stora Enso, a global paper, packaging and wood products company headquartered in Finland.
integral becomes biggest shareholder of Japanese TV ad producer TYO
Integral Corporation, a Tokyo-based private equity firm, has acquired a 44.4% stake in TYO Inc, a second-tier TV commercial producer, for JPY1.3 billion ($16 million) in new shares, becoming the company's largest stakeholder.
Hony picks up c.30% of Singapore's Biosensors International
Hony Captal, the leading China-focused private equity firm, has acquired a 29.47% stake in Biosensors International Group, Ltd., a leading medical device company in Singapore, in a deal estimated at around $218.3 million.
VC-backed Dangdang plans $1 billion NASDAQ IPO
Dangdang, China's largest online book retailer, reportedly will debut on NASDAQ next month, aiming to raise $1 billion.
Pension funds butt heads in $7.4 billion takeover battle for Malaysian highway operator PLUS
Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has teamed with local infrastructure firm United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (UEM) Group - a fully owned subsidy of SWF Khazanah Nasional - to launch a MYR23 billion ($7.4 billion) takeover bid for Malaysian highway...
Macquarie retrenches infrastructure vehicles
Macquarie Group has made a broad pullback in the infrastructure fund sector that has been long associated with the Australian investment bank. Changes include offering investors a fee discount; sacking 60 of its infrastructure staff, around 10% of the...
Sequoia-controlled Mecox Lane raises $129 milllion in NASDAQ IPO
Sequoia Capital-controlled Mecox Lane Ltd., China’s largest mail order service provider, raised $129 million, or $11 per share, from its IPO, offering American depositary shares on NASDAQ.
Blackstone-backed China National BlueStar intends to buy Norwegian solar cell maker
China National BlueStar, the Chinese specialty chemicals company partly owned by US buyout firm the Blackstone Group, is reportedly in talks to acquire some or all of Norwegian solar cell maker Elkem AS, owned by a Norwegian conglomerate Orkla ASA.
Foster's still open to private equity offers for wine unit
David Crawford, Chairman of Australia's Foster's Group, publicly said the company will still entertain offers from private equity groups for its wine business, while repeating that a c.$2.46 billion offer, reportedly from Cerberus Capital Management,...
South Korea's Woori starts sale process for majority stake
South Korean officials have stated that the government will begin the sale of its 57% stake in Woori Financial Holdings, the nation’s third-largest financial services group, this week, as part of a planned privatization.
China's NewMargin Ventures gets $105 million from Western Mining stake sale
NewMargin Ventures, the Beijing-based VC firm, and NewMargin Mining Co.,Ltd., together the third largest shareholders in Western Mining of Xining, Qinghai province in northwest China, have both sold their holdings, trimming down their stakes to 5.01%...
Japan Industrial Partners buys Kyowa Hakko Kirin chemical unit
Japan Industrial Partners, a Tokyo-based private equity firm specializing in business restructuring, has reached a basic agreement to acquire 100% of Kyowa Hakko Chemical, wholly owned by parent Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., a major fermented chemicals manufacturer....
MBK exits CNS to Want Want in 2010's biggest Asia result
MBK Partners has completed its exit from Taiwanese cable investee China Network Systems (CNS), selling its 60% stake to the head of local conglomerate Want Want China Holdings for $2.4 billion in 2010's largest Asian private equity exit, and nixing expectations...
Australia's ATO says will clarify tax issues after TPG Myer debacle
The Australian Taxation Office is due to issue its final determination on taxation of private equity profits, following the incident last year when the office launched a last-minute pursuit of TPG Capital over some $625 million of claimed unpaid tax and...
Perpetual brands KKR's $1.73 billion takeover bid as low, yet considers deal
Australian investment group Perpetual Ltd. has branded the $1.73 billion takeover offer by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) as too low, but has said that it will continue negotiations in possible hopes of eliciting a higher bid.
SGX, ASX agree Asia's first ever stock market merger
The Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) and Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) have agreed to Asia Pacific's first-ever merger of stock exchanges, with a friendly takeover offer from SGX that values ASX at A$8.4 billion ($8.2 billion).
ARC China invests over $4 million in English education provider Guanya Education
ARC China, the Shanghai-based investment management group, has invested over $4 million in Guanya Education Group, a leading children’s English education company in northeast China.
Blackstone and Warburg Pincus-backed Kosmos Energy receives $5 billion bid from CNOOC
China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), China’s third largest oil SOE, and Ghana National Petroleum Corp. have jointly bid in cash to acquire the Ghanaian assets of Kosmos Energy, whose Dallas-based parent is controlled by Warburg Pincus and the Blackstone...
Advent weighs buying QB barbershop chain from ORIX
ORIX Corp., the Japanese leasing and financial conglomerate, is reportedly selling QB Net Co., the operator of a discount barbershop chain, in a deal that could be worth JPY10 billion ($123 million), with PE firm Advent International as a potential buyer,...
VC-backed PRC tutoring firm TAL Education makes strong NYSE debut
Tiger Global Management- and KTB Ventures-backed TAL Education Group, a Chinese tutoring firm, raised $120 million from its debut on the New York Stock Exchange, outperforming expectations as it closed 50% higher than its IPO listing price.
Archer Capital-owned DairyWest buys Brownes from Fonterra
Archer Capital-owned Australian dairy player DairyWest is set to acquire Perth-based dairy producer Brownes from sector giant Fonterra for an undisclosed price.