Investments
India PE deals reach $8.57b in first three quarters of 2011
Private equity firms invested approximately $2.25 billion in 98 deals in India in the third quarter of 2011, bringing the industry’s total to $8.57 billion in 317 transactions for January-September. This marks a significant increase on the $6.4 billion...
General Atlantic plans four India deals worth up to $200m each
General Atlantic is considering four acquisitions in India worth $100-200 million each, according to Ranjit Pandit, the private equity firm’s head of investments in the country. The planned deals were in the internet, logistics, financial services and...
Fund formation: Singapore asserts its onshore qualities
Until two months ago, Han Ming Ho, a Singapore-based partner at Clifford Chance specializing in fund formation, had never heard of buyout firms using his home city as a conduit for investments into Australia. “It had never been mentioned before and then...
CDC focuses on direct investments, debt in India
CDC Group, the UK development finance institution, is changing its strategy in India to focus on direct investments, co-investments and debt, as well as making commitments to private equity fund managers. It will also make investments in early-stage funds....
Mitsubishi, Creat JV fund closes in on first deal
Mitsubishi Corp-backed Kizuna Capital Partners has identified 5-6 potential companies for the debut investment of its $120 million private equity fund and plans to close a transaction by the end of the first quarter of 2012. The alternative energy, medical...
Blackstone claims capacity to invest up to $800m a year in India
The Blackstone Group has the capacity and ability to deploy $500-800 million ever year in India if the macroeconomic environment and other factors stay favorable, according to Akhil Gupta, who oversees the firm’s India operations.
Advent International closes in on BT's Tech Mahindra stake
Advent International is intensifying negotiations with BT over the UK telecom group’s stake in Tech Mahindra. BT held a 23.37% interest in the Indian IT company as of June 30 and has been looking at exit options. Based on current market prices, the stake...
Russia sovereign wealth fund in talks with potential Chinese partner
Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country’s new sovereign wealth fund, is in talks with a Chinese group about making joint investments, with details of a partnership potentially to be announced in October.
Russia's SWF assembles core management team
The Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has assembled its core management team with the appointment of five directors, a legal counsel and an adviser.
IAC's Match.com invests in Chinese dating website
IAC-owned Match.com has purchased a 20% stake in Chinese dating website Zhenai Inc. Details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
RRJ invests in Chinese diaper manufacturer – report
RRJ Capital, the private equity firm set up former Goldman Sachs and Hopu Investment luminary Richard Ong, has teamed up with CK Life Sciences to invest $80 million in Chinese baby diaper manufacturer AAB, Reuters reported, citing a source with direct...
Chinese outbound M&A: Unfamiliar territory
Griffin's Foods is inching its way to market. For some weeks now, rumors have been circulating that Pacific Equity Partners (PEP)-owned New Zealand snack foods business was being primed for sale. The whispers accelerated last week when reports emerged...
PE investment outpaces IPO fundraising by 60% in last six years - report
Private equity and venture capital investment in India reached nearly $50 billion in the last six years compared to $31 billion raised through IPOs during the period, according to a report published by Grant Thornton and the Indian Private Equity and...
PE firms struggle to secure Woori stake
It was the $6 billion question: Would the Korean government sell control of the country’s third-largest lender to a private equity firm? Had the answer been yes - and Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC) exited Woori Financial Group to one of three local...
NEA considering Flipkart investment - report
NEA, the US venture capital firm is considering an investment in Bangalore-based Flipkart, an online retailer of books, mobile phones and other consumer goods. Investment bankers familiar with the situation told The Business Standard that the company...
Mongolia fund to make first investment by October
The Mongolia Opportunities Fund is looking to make its first investment by the end of October. Batsaihan B. Jamichoi, the former Uniqlo executive who started the fund, told Bloomberg that he is targeting infrastructure and service provider in the mining...
Private equity's fashion fix
Fashionable women the world over aspire to own something – a handbag, a coat, a pair of leather pumps – by a designer of such legacy and prestige as Valentino. But in May 2007, global private equity investor Permira pulled the ultimate one-upmanship:...
Investors demand greater transparency from GPs - survey
Institutional investors are increasingly turning to private equity for returns, but they expect greater transparency from GPs. According to a survey report released by SEI in collaboration with Greenwich Associates, fund management need to demonstrate...
Bank of America raises $8.3b in partial exit from CCB
Bank of America (BofA) on Monday sold about half its 10% holding in China Construction Bank (CCB), raising $8.3 billion. The lender, which is in the process of shedding non-core assets and boosting its tier-one capital, sold 13.1 billion shares to group...
Beacon, Mirah Hospitality back Indian fine dining chain
Beacon India Private Equity has invested INR80 million ($1.7 million) in Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality, which operates fine dining restaurants Mocha and Smoke House Deli. The firm’s contribution comes alongside a INR400 million commitment from...
India's Reliance Broadcast in talks with prospective PE investors
Reliance Broadcast Network is in talks with private equity investors over the sale of INR4 billion ($87 million) in preferential shares. Asheesh Chatterjee, Reliance’s CFO, told The Wall Street Journal that the company hopes to reach agreements by the...
Bank of America expected to exit over half its CCB stake this week
Bank of America (BofA) is on course to sell more than half its stake in China Construction Bank (CCB) for up to $10 billion this week. A consortium of Asian and Middle East sovereign wealth funds as well as several private equity firms are in negotiations...
Switzerland's SIFEM converts into a development finance institution
SIFEM, a Swiss fund-of-funds investor active in Asia since the 1990s, has been acquired by the government’s Swiss Confederation division and will now operate as a development finance institution.
Lexington eyes bumper deal flow
Brent Nicklas founded Lexington Partners in 1994 and currently serves as managing partner, overseeing private equity secondary and co-investment funds. He discusses global opportunities for secondary investors