Funds
AVCJ at 25: Luis Miranda of IDFC Private Equity
Luis Miranda became CEO of a fledgling IDFC Private Equity in 2002, raised India’s first infrastructure fund, and helped prove that the sector can make money. A flood of new capital arrived and the country is still adjusting to it
AVCJ at 25: Renuka Ramnath of Multiples Alternative Asset Management
Renuka Ramnath, founder and CEO of Multiples Alternative Asset Management, helped kick-start India VC as ICICI Venture grew from a small-scale backer of internet start-ups into the country’s leading private equity firm
AVCJ at 25: Yichen Zhang of CITIC Capital
Yichen Zhang, CEO of CITIC Capital, watched as pre-IPO strategies took Chinese private equity to unthinkable highs in the mid- to late-2000s. As the market returns to more sustainable levels, he sees control opportunities amid the chaos
AVCJ at 25: John Zhao of Hony Capital
John Zhao, founder and CEO of Hony Capital, teamed up with Legend Holdings to create China’s first buyout fund in 2003. Nearly 10 years on, he is still restructuring state-owned enterprises but also looking to go overseas
AVCJ at 25: X.D. Yang of The Carlyle Group
X.D. Yang, managing director and co-head of Carlyle Asia Partners, joined the buyout firm as it sought to up its game in China. A hugely successful insurance investment remains the landmark deal, but he expects to see more
AVCJ at 25: Joe Bae of KKR
Joe Bae, partner and head of Asia at KKR, set up the private equity firm’s regional operation seven years ago with two principal goals: being as local as possible and building a franchise that is sustainable in the long term
AVCJ at 25: Michael B. Kim of MBK Partners
Michael B. Kim, founding partner of MBK Partners, left The Carlyle Group in 2005 to set up his own private equity firm. The time was right, the capital was available, and there was a desire to become more local
AVCJ at 25: Finian Tan of Vickers Capital
Finian Tan, founder and chairman of Vickers Capital Group, identified Baidu as a start-up and guided the search engine provider all the way to IPO. It was the first in a string of post-tech bubble investments in Chinese internet companies
AVCJ at 25: Lip-Bu Tan of Walden International
Lip-Bu Tan, founder and chairman of Walden International, plotted the route by which foreign venture capital entered China’s internet sector, as well as guiding dozens of Asian companies from start-up to listing
AVCJ at 25: Roy Kuan of CVC Capital Partners
Roy Kuan, managing partner at CVC Capital Partners, witnessed a transformation in private equity in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. Suddenly he was in the buyout business, carving out assets from distressed conglomerates
AVCJ at 25: Weijian Shan of PAG
Weijian Shan, chairman and CEO of PAG, made his name in private equity turning around troubled companies for Newbridge Capital. Two bank deals helped open international investors’ eyes to the Asia buyout opportunity
AVCJ at 25: Ta-Lin Hsu of H&Q Asia Pacific
Ta-Lin Hsu, founder and chairman of H&Q Asia Pacific, brought venture capital to Taiwan as part of efforts to develop the tech sector. It was a launching pad for private equity across the region
AVCJ at 25: Lewis Rutherfurd of Inter-Asia Venture Management
Lewis Rutherfurd, co-founder of Inter-Asia Venture Management, has been active in the industry for 40 years. During that time he brought McDonald’s and Ikea to Hong Kong – and set up Asian Venture Capital Journal
Helion, Nexus commit $10m to Indian e-commerce player ShopClues
Helion Venture Partners and Nexus Venture Partners have invested INR540 million ($10 million) in e-commerce firm Shopclue.com. Netprice.com CEO Teruhide Sato also participated in the funding round.
Australia's Blackbird Ventures reaches first close on VC fund
Sydney-based VC firm Blackbird Ventures has reached a first close of A$20 million on its A$30 million ($31 million) internet-focused venture capital fund.
Morgan Creek to deploy over half of Fund II in China – report
Morgan Creek Capital reportedly plans to deploy at least 60% of its next Asian fund-of-funds in China. The vehicle, the firm’s second dedicated to the region, has a target of $300 million.
Temasek’s Vertex leads Series B round for Clearbridge BioMedics
Vertex Ventures, a VC unit of Temasek Holdings, has led a Series B round of financing for Singapore-based Clearbridge BioMedics worth S$9 million ($7.2 million). Other participants include existing investor BioVeda, Spring Seeds Capital, Biosensors International...
CX Partners targets May first close for India mezz fund
India’s CX Partners is aiming to raise the first round of capital for its new mezzanine fund by May.
Life sciences VC investor Domain creates China partnership
US-based venture capital firm Domain Associates has teamed up with Chinese financial advisor Elite Consulting to support Western healthcare companies entering China. Several global VC investors and related service providers have been bulking up their...
Kotak Mahindra reaches $90m first close on India infra fund
Kotak Mahindra has reached a first close on its infrastructure fund with commitments of $90 million. Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Brookfield Asset Management have come in as cornerstone investors.
Li Ka-Shing’s Horizon Ventures leads Nipendo round
Horizons Ventures, which manages VC investments for Hong Kong magnate Li Ka-Shing, has led an $8 million series B round of funding in Nipendo, a cloud-based trading community platform.
Longreach adds to Tokyo team
North Asia mid-market buyout firm The Longreach Group has appointed Takuya Sato as executive director and Kishin Ryu as an associate.
KKR closes in on Alliance Tire buyout - report
KKR is said to be in the final stages of acquiring an 80% stake in Indian tire maker Alliance Tire Group. The deal values the company at $600 million and it will see KKR buy Warburg Pincus' entire interest in the company as well as shares from other minority...
Cerberus to boost stake in Japan's Seibu
Cerberus Capital Management wants to raise its stake in Japanese railways and property group Seibu Holdings by around 4% as the company plans to re-list.