Funds
Carlyle exits Sinorgchem to China's Sinochem
The Carlyle Group has exited its holding in rubber additives producer Jiangsu Sinorgchem Technology through a trade sale to Sinochem International, the overseas arm of the Chinese state-owned chemicals company. This is one of a series of transactions...
BlackRock to acquire Swiss Re Private Equity Partners
BlackRock is buying Swiss Re Private Equity Partners (SRPEP), the European private equity and infrastructure fund-of-funds arm of Swiss Re. The transaction will allow BlackRock’s existing FoFs group – BlackRock Private Equity Partners - to extend its...
CapitaMalls Asia raises $1b for China Development Fund III
CapitaMalls Asia, the shopping malls arm of Temasek-owned CapitaLand, has announced the establishment of its China Development Fund III with a fund size of $1 billion. The vehicle, with a fund life of eight years, will invest in the development of shopping...
Australia's Hastings raises $626m for infrastructure fund
Hastings Funds Management announced that its Utilities Trust of Australia (UTA) has reached a first close on its infrastructure fund with commitments of A$610 million ($626 million). The amount is in line with expectations outlined in January 2012 and...
Beijing creates PE secondaries exchange
China has set up an exchange intended to make it easier for investors to trade their holdings in equity investment funds. Launched on Thursday, the China PE Secondary Market Development Alliance will theoretically facilitate exits from positions in illiquid...
Groupon's China business to merge with Tencent
Group-buying website Groupon is merging its China operations, known as Gaopeng, with a similar site owned by domestic internet company Tencent Holdings. Gaopeng was created in late 2010 as a joint venture between Groupon and Tencent. The Tencent Collaboration...
General Mobile gets $5m from Singtel Innov8, Mitsui
SingTel Innov8 and Japan’s Mitsui & Co. have led a $5 million round of funding for General Mobile, a company that provides mobile internet services to customers in emerging markets. Existing investors in General Mobile include Taiwan-based MediaTek, a...
New Zealand's MOVAC closes third fund at $33m
New Zealand-based early-stage investor MOVAC has raised NZ$42 million ($33.2 million) for its third fund. It will invest sums of NZ$1-5 million in local companies with an established track record that require growth capital.
Sinopharm Capital to launch $157m RMB fund
Sinopharm Capital, a subsidiary of drug distributing conglomerate Sinopharm, has launched an RMB1 billion ($157 million) fund that will invest in different segments of the healthcare industry.
ASK Property closes $175m real estate fund
ASK Property Investment Advisors (ASKPIA), a subsidiary of financial services firm ASK Group, has announced a final close of its second real estate fund on INR10 billion ($175 million).
Morgan Stanley invests $210m in Continuum Wind Energy
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners has agreed to buy a majority stake in Continuum Wind Energy for INR12 billion ($210 million). The Singapore-based company, which was set up Essar Group executive Vikas Saraf and investment banker Arvind Bansal, runs...
Billabong poised for takeover as share price tumbles
Australian surfwear retailer Billabong International saw its stock slump 36% when it resumed trading on Monday following a heavily discounted $225 million rights issue. The company is now worth less than one third of the value of TPG Capital’s A$841 million...
KKR reaches halfway point on $6b Asia fund
KKR has reached the halfway point in fundraising for its second Asia fund, receiving more than $3 billion in commitments. According to a regulatory filing, third-party investors have pledged $2.76 billion to KKR Asian Fund II, with general partners putting...
KKR to establish investment team in Singapore
KKR will open an office in Singapore as a base for its investment activities across Southeast Asia. AVCJ understands that an announcement is forthcoming, with about eight investment professionals working out of the new office, although Ming Lu, the firm’s...
Carlyle hires Neeraj Bharadwaj as India MD
The Carlyle Group has appointed Neeraj Bharadwaj as a managing director for its Asia operations in Mumbai. It emerged last week that he was the private equity firm’s preferred candidate for the role.
Partners Group exceeds $800m with real estate fund
Partners Group has closed its Global Real Estate 2011 program at more than $800 million.
PennSERS commits $50m to Asia Alternatives' third fund
The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System (PennSERS) has committed $50 million to Asia Alternatives' third fund-of-funds, which was launched early last year with a target of $1 billion. As of September 2011, it had attracted $375 million, according...
AVCJ China Awards: VC Professional of the Year – Bo Feng
Bo Feng, founding partner of Ceyuan Ventures, on the treats and trials of VC investing in China
AVCJ China Awards: RMB Fundraising of the Year – Cowin Capital
After barely three months in the market, Shenzhen-based Cowin Capital successfully closed its Nanhai Growth Fund V in June 2011 at a total of RMB2.5 billion ($393 million). The vehicle took the VC firm’s total assets under management past RMB7.5 billion....
AVCJ China Awards: VC Deal of the Year – Dianping.com
As China’s leading restaurant reviews website, Dianping.com has developed a business model that is difficult for others to replicate. VC backers TrustBridge, Lightspeed, Sequoia and Qiming don’t expect this to change
Growth capital mezzanine: The third way
Growth capital mezzanine players are still few in number in Asia. Will struggling equity markets and tighter credit conditions open up the market for these alternative capital providers?
Cathay Life Insurance invests $30m in KKR's Asian fund
Cathay Life Insurance has committed $30 million to KKR’s second pan-Asian fund, which has a target of $6 billion. Cathay Financial Holding, the Taiwan insurer’s parent company, announced the investment in a stock exchange filing dated June 11.
Boris Bong leaves Squadron Capital for J.P. Morgan
Boris Bong, a managing director at Hong Kong-based fund-of-funds Squadron Capital, has left the company. He is joining J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s private equity group, also as a managing director.
LaSalle Investment to raise $700m Asia property fund
LaSalle Investment Management, a unit of Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle, is seeking to raise $700 million for an Asia Pacific property fund.