North America
Standard Chartered PE takes Smoothies Korea overseas
Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) has completed its fourth transaction in partnership with South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), making a $46 million investment in nutritional beverage brand Smoothies Korea. The company will use the capital...
PE and FATCA: Complain but comply
Asian GPs have lagged behind other regional institutions in getting to grips with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. The time has come to face the impact these rules could have on local firms
SEC registration: Are Asian GPs taking it seriously?
Three months after US regulators introduced new rules for reporting and registration of private investment advisers, PE firms are changing the way they do business – but much less so in Asia than in the US
Endowments: Still gold standard?
North American endowments took a beating during the financial crisis and the recovery process has been slow. But they retain the ability to uncover high-quality GPs, in the US and beyond
Abax wins board approval for Fushi Copperweld MBO
Abax Global Capital has finalized a $363.8 million buyout of US-listed Chinese wire manufacturer Fushi Copperweld in alliance with company management. The transaction has taken about 18 months to close and represents Abax’s second successful take-private...
VIDEO: Sterling Partners' Eric Becker
Some private equity firms in emerging Asian markets still shirk at being labeled specialist, arguing that a narrow focus risks missing out on a wealth of growth opportunities. The US, several decades down the line in terms of the private equity development...
MineralTree in $6.3m round led by Fidelity India
Fidelity Growth Partners India has led a $6.3 financing round for Boston-based MineralTree, which provides cloud-based secure payments services for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Existing investor .406 Ventures also participated.
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,...
San Diego pension fund commits $50m to FountainVest
The San Diego County Employees Retirement Association (SDCERA) has committed $50 million to FountainVest China Growth Capital Fund II. FountainVest Partners, set up by former Temasek Holdings executives in 2007, raised $950 million for its first vehicle...
Vermont state pension funds commit $75m to HarbourVest
A HarbourVest Partners fund targeting Europe, Asia and emerging markets has received a $10 million commitment from the Vermont Pension Investment Committee (VPIC). It is part of a $75 million investment by the committee, which represents pension funds...
WI Harper invests in Quixey’s Series B round
WI Harper, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage and expansion deal in Greater China, has announced a follow-on investment into Quixey, a search engine for apps, in its Series B financing round.
PE giants exit AMC to Chinese investor
Dalian Wanda Group’s ambitions appear to know no bounds. Last week the conglomerate completed what could be the largest ever Chinese takeover of a US company, paying $2.6 billion for AMC Entertainment. Wanda’s goal is to unite AMC’s movie theater...
GA sells Gavilon stake to Japan’s Marubeni
General Atlantic (GA) has sold its stake in US grain trader Gavilon to Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp, in a deal that values the company at an enterprise value of around $5.3 billion.
CIC poised to invest $2b in Alibaba Group – report
China Investment Corp. (CIC) may take a $2 billion stake in Alibaba Group in order to finance the Chinese internet company’s purchase of a 20% stake in itself from Yahoo. Last week, Alibaba agreed to purchase half of Yahoo’s 40% holding for $7.1 billion...
Alibaba to buy back 20% of Yahoo’s stake for $7.1b
Alibaba Group has agreed to repurchase about a 20% stake in itself from Yahoo for $7.1 billion ahead of an initial public offering. The US internet company bought 40% of Alibaba - founded by Jack Ma (pictured) - in 2005, paying $1 billion plus ownership...
CalPERS commits $500m to Blackstone, $100m to PAG
California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the biggest US public pension fund, is going to commit $500 million to a managed account overseen by Blackstone Group. Another $100 million will be distributed to Hong Kong-based PAG.
SingTel's Amobee buys VC-backed ad startup
Singapore Telecommunications, Southeast Asia's largest telecoms company, has acquired AdJitsu, a VC-backed Silicon Valley startup in the mobile advertising sector. This is SingTel's second acquisition in two months.
JAFCO backs US-based pharma company in Series A funding
JAFCO has invested $10 million in the Series A financing of Eleven Biotherapeutics, a US-based biopharmaceutical company designing and engineering novel and differentiated protein-based biotherapeutics.
Carlyle falls short of IPO target
The Carlyle Group raised $671 million in its initial public offering, falling significantly short of its already conservative target of $762.5 million.
Korea’s Tstone agrees partnership with Newsweek
South Korea’s Tstone Corp. has entered into a partnership with Newsweek to develop the magazine’s business in Asia. This will involve expanding the existing Asian edition of Newsweek across the digital, broadcast and events space.
OMERS, Japan pension funds target $20b infrastructure vehicle
Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Scheme (OMERS), one of Canada’s largest pension plans, has announced a first close of $7.5 billion on an infrastructure fund set up with a consortium of Japanese pension funds led by Mitsubishi Corporation. The...
VC firms support Japan-US drug development alliance
Drais Pharmaceuticals, a US-based firm backed by InterWest Partners and Sutter Hill Ventures, will form a partnership with Japan’s Astellas Pharma to jointly develop a new line of drugs. Astellas has agreed to transfer assets to Drais-operated Telsar...
Taiwan's GVT Fund leads Series E round in LED Engin
Taiwan-based GVT Fund, which is sponsored by Industrial Technology Investment Company, has led a Series E funding round in LED Engin, a California-based solid-state lighting company specializing in LED components and optics.
Comply or die? GPs, technology and reporting standards
Fund managers are dealing with the challenges of an increasingly demanding LP base. Asian GPs looking for institutional money must invest in compliance or rely on their track records to carry them through