Funds
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.
Singapore named most attractive market for infrastructure investment
Singapore is the world’s most attractive market for infrastructure investment, according to a new report.
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.
Partners Group raises $2.6b for global secondaries fund
Partners Group has closed its latest secondary fund at the hard cap of EUR2 billion ($2.6 billion) and expects to deploy a higher proportion of the corpus in Asia than for previous vehicles as the region’s private equity market matures. The vehicle...
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.
Fenox VC invests in Japan's Dream Link Entertainment
Silicon Valley-based Fenox VC has invested in Japanese flash animation studio Dream Link Entertainment (DLE).
Headland completes $55m buyout of South Korea’s YoungToys
Headland Capital Partners has a acquired a 96.5% stake in South Korean toy manufacturer YoungToys for KRW60 billion ($55 million). It is the 10th investment from Headland Private Equity Fund 6.
TA-owned SpeedCast buys Australian Satellite Communications
TA Associate Partners-backed SpeedCast has completed a buyout of Australian Satellite Communications (ASC). The company provides satellite-based communications solutions throughout Australia and surrounding regions.
Blackstone to launch Asia real estate fund
The Blackstone Group is launching an Asia real estate fund to capitalize on what Tony James, the firm’s president, described as a “golden moment” to engage in property market investment.
Secondaries: Sleight of hand
Are LPs using synthetic solutions like total return swaps to trade fund positions behind the managers’ backs? Some industry participants are suspicious; others are skeptical.
Teutonic ambitions
Another week, another Chinese strategic acquisition of a German manufacturing asset. The most recent case involves Fusheng Industrial, Greater China's leading producer of industrial air compressors, buying its German rival ALMiG Kompresssoren.