Investments
CPPIB leads $805m round for India's VerSe
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has led a USD 805m Series J round for India’s Verse Innovation, parent of media apps Dailyhunt and Josh. It is said to value the company at USD 5bn.
Deal focus: Nio Capital gets real with Nreal
Nio Capital invested in Nreal with a view to seeing the Chinese start-up’s augmented reality glasses feature in smart cockpits in next-generation cars. The company is now pushing for scale
Multiples leads $111m Series D for India NBFC
Multiples Private Equity has agreed to lead a INR 8.7bn (USD 111m) Series D round for India’s Kogta Financial, a non-bank financing company (NBFC) specialising in used vehicles and micro businesses.
Deal focus: India EV set for mass mobility boom
India’s EverSource Capital sees a fast track to auto industry electrification in the B2B fleet services of Lithium Urban Technologies. The company plans more than fivefold growth in the next few years
Carlyle sells Japan construction materials supplier to Lone Star
The Carlyle Group has sold Senqcia Corporation, a Japanese construction materials supplier formerly known as Hitachi Metals Techno, to Lone Star Funds for an undisclosed sum.
Bain buys minority stake in India's IIFL Wealth
Bain Capital has paid INR 33.8bn (USD 484m) for a 24.98% stake in India’s IIFL Wealth Management, taking out positions held by General Atlantic and Fairfax India Holdings.
Effissimo pledges to support Bain buyout of Toshiba
Bain Capital appears to be preparing a take-private bid for Toshiba Corporation, having secured the support of the company’s largest activist shareholder for a potential tender offer.
India's Games24x7 raises $75m, becomes unicorn
Malabar Investment has led a USD 75m funding round for Games 24x7, an India-based mobile games operator, at a valuation of USD 2.5bn.
China cybersecurity provider ThreatBook raises $47m
Beijing-based cybersecurity solutions provider ThreatBook has raised CNY 300m (USD 47m) in an extended Series E round led by CDH Investments, featuring existing investor Star Road Ventures.
China MSME financier raises $70m
Micro Connect, a China-based provider of financing to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), has raised USD 70m in Series B funding.
Insight leads Series C for UK, India-based Builder.ai
Insight Partners has led a USD 100m Series C round for Builder.ai, a low-code/no-code app development platform that has a significant back-office presence in India.
Riverside backs Australia events software provider
The Riverside Company has invested an undisclosed sum in EventsAIR, an Australian events management software provider for in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.
CDH, Huaxing lead $120m Series B for China's InnoRNA
CDH Investments and Huaxing Healthcare Fund have led a USD 120m Series B for InnoRNA, a China-based mRNA drug developer. Existing investors CPE and Fangyuan Capital re-upped.
China EV maker Eezi raises $78m
Shenzhen-based electronic vehicle (EV) manufacturer Eezi has raised a CNY 500m (USD 78m) pre-A round led by China Merchants Venture.
Paragon backs Indian caffeine-based personal care brand
Paragon Partners has led a INR 2.4bn (USD 31.7m) Series C round for mCaffeine, an India-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) personal care brand that specialises in caffeine-infused products.
Deal focus: India e-sports early-mover makes waves
Loco is positioned to take a leadership role in India’s up-for-grabs game streaming industry following a sizeable Series A round and promising early traction in community building
BNPL: Voodoo economics?
Credit-driven e-commerce is coming to developing Asia with an attractive supply-demand equation and a mix of macro and business-level risks. Start-ups are courting incumbents, not disrupting them
Deal focus: Jade Invest rides pest control M&A boom
Having offered a blueprint for pest control consolidation globally in Anticimex, EQT wants to repeat the trick in China with Guardian Hygiene Service. It meant a 3.3x return for previous owner Jade Invest
Deal focus: Apis targets modes of engagement
Through investments in Giift and Xoxoday, Apis Partners is betting on the emergence of personalised, data-driven loyalty and incentives programs and Asian corporates doing more to retain staff and customers
EQT and Baring Asia: Size matters
The significance of EQT’s acquisition of Baring Private Equity Asia is in the strategic machinations of global GPs as much as in the implications for on-the-ground dealmaking
Philippines MSME service provider secures $77m Series C
GrowSari, a Philippines-based start-up that helps micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) take retail operations online, has seen its Series C swell to USD 77.5m with the addition of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Temasek Holdings-owned...
China's JD Property closes $800m Series B
Warburg Pincus and Hillhouse Investment have re-upped in JD Property, the infrastructure property asset management arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, as part of a USD 800m Series B round.
India cricket metaverse start-up raises $100m
Insight Partners has led USD 100m Series A round for FanCraze, an Indian digital assets start-up that earlier this year launched a range of cricket-themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Diageo divests Korean whisky brand to local PE consortium
Global beverage giant Diageo has agreed to sell Windsor, Korea’s best-selling whisky brand, to Bayside Private Equity and Metis Private Equity for KRW 200bn (USD 163.2m).