Fundraising
NZ Super to back Pioneer's fourth fund
Auckland-based private equity firm Pioneer Capital has received a cornerstone commitment of NZ$100 million ($72 million) for its fourth fund from New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZ Super).
Lilly Asia Ventures raises $1.35b for healthcare funds
Lilly Asia Ventures (LAV) has raised $1.35 billion for its latest healthcare fund, having introduced a $450 million opportunity vehicle that sits alongside a core pool of $900 million.
AVCJ Awards 2020: Firm of the Year - Mid Cap: Advantage Partners
Richard Folsom, representative partner of Advantage Partners, looks back on a year dominated by succession planning, fundraising, and new investment opportunities
Fund focus: Japan's T Capital closes Fund VI at hard cap
Having completed its spin-out from Tokio Marine, T Capital Partners tapped overseas LPs for the first time for its sixth fund. They account for 40% of the JPY81 billion ($773 million) corpus
Sideline SPACs: Competing priorities?
Ties between private equity firms and special purpose acquisition companies are not uniform – some are direct relationships, while others involve certain individuals. But proliferation is likely to attract more LP scrutiny
Profile: Sarmayacar's Rabeel Warraich
Rabeel Warraich swapped the stability of GIC for the untested waters of early-stage investment in Pakistan. With Sarmayacar about to close the country’s first VC fund, the gamble appears to be paying off
GGV closes latest US dollar funds at $2.5b
GGV Capital has closed its latest set of US dollar-denominated funds with $2.52 billion in aggregate commitments. It represents the largest fundraising since the firm’s inception in 2000.
AVCJ Awards 2020: Fundraising of the Year - Large Cap: The Carlyle Group
With twice as much dry powder as in its previous Japan vintage, The Carlyle group expects mega-deals and private equity participation to increase
Fund focus: LPs flock to Lake Bleu’s late show
Lake Bleu Capital leveraged a lift in Chinese healthcare sentiment to raise $560 million for a fund that will target late-stage healthcare investments
Qiming raises $441m for its sixth renminbi fund
Qiming Venture Partners has closed its sixth renminbi-denominate vehicle at RMB2.85 billion ($441 million), taking the firm's total assets under management to $5.9 billion.
Hong Kong's E15 VC closes second fund at $32m
Hong Kong technology investor E15 VC, also known as E15 Ventures, has closed its second fund at $32 million with a $15 million contribution from Sun Hung Kai & Co (SHK).
Hopu founder backs China healthcare-focused SPAC
Fenglei Fang, founder and chairman of Chinese private equity firm Hopu Investments, is looking to raise $300 million for a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that will target healthcare companies with a China focus or expansion prospects in the...
Fund focus: Firstred's advisory angle
Firstred Capital has already completed six deals from its debut fund, making commitments that are flexible in structure to Chinese companies that need its M&A expertise
4Q analysis: Growth spurt
Technology-enabled businesses in China and India are the beneficiaries of a resurgence in growth capital deal flow; Japan is the sole stand-out in fundraising; IPOs continue to shine as overall exits struggle
AVCJ Awards 2020: Fundraising of the Year - Mid Cap: Ascendent Capital Partners
A $500 million investment in Wumart is the exception rather than the rule for Ascendent Capital Partners’ third China fund, but the digital transformation theme is a constant
Fund focus: Novo Tellus closes second Southeast Asia fund at $250m
Although its second fund is considerably larger than its first, Novo Tellus Capital Partners expects to target the same kind of Southeast Asian industrial technology businesses that have succession and expansion issues
Tower Capital hits first close on Southeast Asia fund
Tower Capital, a Singapore-based GP that previously operated on a deal-by-deal basis, has achieved a first close of approximately $250 million on its first Southeast Asia-focused private equity fund.
Monument Group recruits Japan representative
Placement agent Monument Group has appointed Hiroshi Nishimuro, formerly of Morgan Stanley, as its Japan representative to lead fundraising efforts and manage GP relationships in the country.
Asia PE investment ends 2020 on a tear
A fourth-quarter surge in growth-stage deal-making took Asia private equity investment to $198.5 billion in 2020, comfortably surpassing the previous year’s total despite the strictures of COVID-19.
Lake Bleu raises $560m for Asia pre-IPO healthcare fund
Lake Bleu Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity investor focused on healthcare, has raised $560 million for a pre-IPO fund targeting Asia with an emphasis on Greater China.
AVCJ Awards 2020: Fundraising of the Year - Venture Capital: Ince Capital Partners
A year after leaving Qiming Venture Partners, J.P. Gan raised $351.9 million for his debut fund at consumer internet-focused Ince Capital Partners
China's Firstred targets $500m US dollar fund
Firstred Capital, a Chinese private equity firm established by M&A veteran Xiaodan Liu, is looking to raise approximately $500 million for its debut US dollar-denominated fund.
SEAF hits first close on Southeast Asia women’s fund
The Southeast Asia division of US-headquartered impact private equity firm SEAF has reached a first close of at least $16 million for a women’s economic empowerment fund.
Olympus-sponsored SPAC raises $130m
Olympus Capital has raised $130 million for a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which it is sponsoring via its fifth pan-Asian fund.