Funds
SingTel Innov8 participates in Sentilla's $15m Series C round
SingTel Innov8 Ventures, the venture arm of the SingTel Group, has participated in a $15 million Series C round of financing launched by California-based Sentilla Corporation, a leading provider of IT infrastructure software. Other participants include...
Nexus Venture Partners prepares for $250m third fund
Nexus Venture Partners will reportedly launch the fundraising process for a $250 million fund early next year. It will be the private equity firm's third vehicle.
SAIF takes minority stake in Manpasand Beverages
SAIF Partners India has invested $10 million in Manpasand Beverages, a Gujarat-based juice manufacturing and marketing company.
Market volatility hits US-listed buyout firms
Publicly traded buyout firms have seen their share prices fall 19-27% so far in August, compared to a 9.5% drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. As the market troubles escalated yesterday, with the Dow retreating 3.7%, Blackstone Group, KKR, Apollo...
GSR hires former Baidu CTO as partner in Beijing
GSR Ventures has appointed Yinan Li, a serial entrepreneur who has previously served as chief technology officer at Baidu, as a venture partner. Li, 41, will be based in Beijing and focus on investments in the China wireless and internet technology spaces....
Japanese property plays
Distressed investment in Japan is very much a real estate game and the opportunities are considerable – provided you can get a seat at the table. Long-term market participants are eying office buildings in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, aware that...
Funds back India's rising cleantech sector
IDFC Private Equity and International Finance Corp. (IFC), the World Bank’s investment arm, reaffirmed their commitment to India’s clean energy sector in two separate deals announced last week. The transactions come a few weeks after a UN Environment...
AVCJ Forum: More than meets the eye
In the June 22 edition of this column, I shared a conversation with a venture capitalist about the reasons why it makes sense for VCs to attend the AVCJ Forum (www.avcjforum.com) in November. Basically, senior partners of the larger private equity and...
Tudou raises $174m in NASDAQ IPO
Venture capital-backed Chinese video site Tudou has raised $174 million through its NASDAQ IPO, surpassing the $100-150 million target it set earlier this year.
Blackstone hunts for financing for Valad acquisition
Blackstone is reportedly seeking A$431 million ($452 million) in financing to complete its purchase of distressed Australian property group Valad, and will tap investors in Australia and Greater China for the money.
SAIF, IDG team with Hollywood producer to release Chinese films globally
Hollywood entertainment company Relativity Media has teamed with SAIF Partners and IDG China Media to launch a $100 million fund that will produce and distribute China-focused film content and release it to global moviegoers.
AXA Private Equity raises $3b for secondary fund
AXA Private Equity has raised $3 billion for its latest secondary fund. It is targeting a final close of $3.5 billion for AXA Secondary Fund V, having set the hard cap at $4 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the...
CAS Capital to exits controlling stake in Japanese restaurant chain
CAS Capital will sell controlling stake in Japanese restaurant chain Kazokutei to H2O Retailing, a listed holding company of Hanshin and Hankyu Department Store Groups, through a tender offer buyout.
Carlyle, Unison sell nearly half of Covalent for $450m
The Carlyle Group and Unison Capital has sold part of Covalent Materials, a Japanese silicon wafer and ceramics manufacturer to Taiwanese solar wafer maker Sino-American Silicon Products (SAS). The deal size has not been disclosed, but it is thought to...
Future Fund decreases Telstra stake, reports 12.4% return on portfolio
Australian pension vehicle Future Fund has decreased its stake in Telstra to 2.5%, five years after inheriting the telecommunications firm from the federal government.
CITIC's mezzanine initiative still veiled in secrecy
The news was brief yet had potentially far-reaching consequences: the private equity arm of Chinese financial behemoth CITIC Group would launch a RMB5 billion ($777 million) renminbi-denominated mezzanine fund.
TPG eyes controlling stake in Indonesian tire manufacturer
US buyout firm TPG Capital has emerged as a potential bidder for Indonesian tire manufacturer Multistrada Arah Sarana, Reuters reported. It faces competition from South Korea's Hankook Tire and Japan’s Yokohama Rubber.
Mandolin Fund backs trouble-hit Sino-Forest
On June 2, short-seller research firm Muddy Waters branded Chinese timber firm Sino-Forest a fraud, prompting a 71% drop in the firm’s stock within 48 hours. Paulson & Co. cut and ran three weeks later. The hedge fund was said to have owned nearly 35...
India regulation: SEBI takes a stand
The Uniqueness of India's private equity sector is a product of its own unsystematic development – a process that has been largely hands-off from a regulatory standpoint, cultivated by the professionals, emerging investors and the spinoff funds within...
Apollo's PE business drives up second-quarter earnings
A strong performance from Apollo Global Management’s private equity business saw second-quarter earnings reach $139.6 million, or US$0.31 per share, on the back of revenue jumped to $308.9 million from $79.3 million. According to US GAAP, Apollo posted...
Bain, KKR to bid for PE-owned MYOB - report
Bain Capital and KKR are reportedly among the contenders to acquire Australian accounting software provider MYOB from owners Archer Capital and HarbourVest Partners. Bidding for the asset, which could reach A$1 billion ($1.03 billion), is slated to begin...
Russia's sovereign wealth fund seeks Chinese partners
Russia’s first sovereign wealth fund, the $10 billion Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which was set up in June, is seeking Chinese partners to co-invest in deals, Caixin reported.
Update: Revived WestBridge reaches $500m fund target
WestBridge Capital Partners, the private equity fund relaunched by Sequoia Capital India’s founders, has reached the $500 million target for its new vehicle, the WestBridge Crossover Fund, within six months. According to the firm, the fund has been fully...
Asia distressed assets: Off the radar
A decade ago, in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, the region’s distressed assets were all the rage as investors moved in for opportunities to turnaround businesses that were underfinanced or failing. With emerging economies now flourishing,...