Funds
CanBank Venture backs India's Vinyas Innovative Technology
Canbank Venture Capital Fund, the PE unit of Canara Bank, has invested INR100 million ($1.8 million) in Mysore-based electronic manufacturing services firm Vinyas Innovative Technologies.
Unitus raises $8m for India seed fund
Unitus Seed Fund (USF) has raised more than $8 million for its seed-stage venture capital fund focused on start-ups serving India's low-income consumers.
China's Mailman to set up early-stage Asia fund
Mailman, a social media and digital marketing company based in China, is a forming a start-up fund that will provide Series A funding rounds.
Indonesia's Berrybenka gets funding from Gree Ventures
Gree Ventures, the VC arm of social Japanese social networking giant Gree, has completed its third investment in Indonesia, providing a Series A round of funding to fashion-focused e-commerce start-up Berrybenka. The size of the investment was not disclosed....
VCs and mobile internet: The race to stay relevant
Venture capital investors targeting the mobile and social media space are only as good as their understanding of the consumer habits and technologies that underpin industry trends
Taiwan's Chinatrust in talks to buy Tokyo Star Bank - report
Chinatrust Commercial Bank, one of Taiwan's largest commercial banks, is reportedly in talks to acquire Tokyo Star Bank for JPY50 billion ($582 million). Tokyo Star's shareholders, which include Lone Star Funds, have previously struggled to find interested...
Equis closes first fund at $647m
Equis Funds Group, a pan-Asian fund manager focused on Asian energy and infrastructure, has closed its first private equity fund - Equis Asia Fund I - at $647 million, exceeding its initial target of $500 million.
Carlyle relists Chimney, completes partial exit
The Carlyle Group has completed a partial exit from Japanese restaurant chain Chimney having relisted the company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange three years after taking it private. It is the private equity firm’s first IPO in Japan this year, having abandoned...
Bain appoints ex-J.P. Morgan executive as senior advisor
Gaby Abdelnour has been appointed senior advisor to Bain Capital effective January 1. He retired as the Asia-Pacific chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan in June, a position he held for the last six of his 14 years at the firm.
Wilson Sonsini opens Beijing office
Venture capital-focused law firm Wilson Sonsini has opened an office in Beijing, enlarging a Greater China footprint that already takes in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The office is led by Kefei Li, a partner with the firm. He reports to Weiheng Chen, the...
Fortress closes second Japan distress fund at $1.6b
Fortress Investment Group has closed its second distress fund, Fortress Japan Opportunity Fund II, at its hard cap of JPY130 billion ($1.65 billion). It is the successor fund to Fortress Japan Opportunity Domestic Fund (FJOF) which closed in June 2010...
Nexus Ventures-backed Vdopia raises $3.4m Series B round
Video advertising network Vdopia has secured $3.4 million in Series B funding in a private offering from a single unnamed investor.
Japan's Fuller gets $1.2m seed round
Japanese internet service provider ASAHI Net and m8 Capital, a London-based VC firm, are leading a JPY100 million ($1.2 million) round of seed funding for Japan-based start-up Fuller Inc.
Golden Gate invests in three Singapore e-commerce firms
Golden Gate Ventures, a Southeast Asia-focused early stage technology seed fund, has added three Singapore-based e-commerce businesses to its portfolio: TradeGecko, RedMart and Coda Payments.
KKR raises $6b for Asia fund - report
KKR is said to have reached the $6 billion target for its second pan-Asia fund. It is the largest vehicle ever raised in the region, topping the $4.25 billion raised by TPG Capital for its fifth Asia fund in 2007.
KKR, Providence battle for Australia's NextGen – report
KKR is said to have joined Providence Equity Partners and TPG Telecom in the bidding for NextGen, the fibre-optics business being sold by Australian contractor Leighton Holdings.
Ascalon's Chuak Chan promoted from Asia head to CEO
Ascalon Capital Managers has appointed Chuak Chan as CEO. He joined the Australia-headquartered firm last year as head of Asia, having previously worked at Hong Kong hedge fund Segantii Capital Management, ING Investment Management and Bankers Trust in...
Ticketgoose plans second round funding from VCs
One of India's leading online bus tickets firms, Ticketgoose.com, is looking to raise INR250 million ($4.6 million) in a second round of VC funding, CEO Arun Athiappan said.
Sequoia leads $9.2m Series B in iCreate
Sequoia Capital is leading a INR500 milion ($9.2 million) round of investment in data analytics start-up iCreate Software. Sequoia’s Gautam Mago will join the board.
Renesas sells $1.8b in shares to INCJ-led consortium
Ailing Japanese chip-maker Renesas will sell JPY150 billion ($1.8 billion) of new shares to a consortium led by government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ).
Singapore travel website gets seed funding from TNF, SingTel Innov8
Singapore-based online travel booking site Flocations has raised $570,000 seed funding round led by TNF Ventures and including SingTel Innov8, the corporate venture arm of SingTel – and angel investor Ben Ball.
Composition Capital invests in four Asian projects
Composition Capital Partners has invested in four projects in Macau, Taiwan and Malaysia through its local joint venture partners. The property-focused investor has also exited a Tokyo office development within a year of acquisition.
US, India-focused Naya reaches first close on VC fund
Naya Ventures, a US-based VC firm that also invests in India, has reached a first close of $50 million on a fund targeting the mobile and cloud markets. Its approach involves providing capital and industry expertise to early-stage companies with a view...
Blume, First Light invest $500k in India's MadRat Games
Blume Ventures and First Light Ventures have invested $500,000 in Bangalore-based gaming start-up MadRat Games.