North America
Yahoo founder refuses to rule out sale to Alibaba, private equity
Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has refused to rule out the possible sale of the company to Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma or to a private equity interests. “There are plenty of options,” he told a conference in Hong Kong Wednesday.
Tsing Capital backs solar panel maker Sunpreme
Tsing Capital has participated in a $50 million round of financing for existing portfolio company Sunpreme, a Silicon Valley-based solar cell manufacturer. The round was led by International Finance Corp. (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, and...
WL Ross struggles to raise new fund
WL Ross & Co. has cut its target for its latest fund to $2-2.5 billion, having raised little more than one tenth of the $4 billion it set out to attract last year, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
SEC approves Volcker rule as market watchers express concerns
Concerns are being raised that the Volcker rule, which limits bank exposure to asset classes such as a private equity, will be postponed or weakened by lobbyists and that some forms of proprietary trading will be exempted completely. The rule was approved...
Asia Pacific LPs put up nearly 25% of EQT's $6.5b fund
EQT Partners has raised EUR4.75 billion ($6.5 billion) for its sixth European buyout fund, with Asia Pacific LPs accounting for 23% of commitments, up from just 5% in the firm’s previous vehicle. According to people familiar with the situation, Chinese...
Alibaba, Temasek in talks over Yahoo deal – report
Alibaba Group has held discussions with Temasek Holdings about supporting the purchase of Yahoo’s 40% stake in the Chinese company.
Yahoo examines options for exiting Japanese business – report
Yahoo is close to unloading its 35% stake in Yahoo Japan and it is thought that a sale could happen relatively quickly, potentially simplifying decisions about the US firm’s wider prospects.
Blackstone's GSO exits Stolle to Japanese strategic buyer
GSO Capital Partners, Blackstone Group’s credit business, will sell Stolle Machinery to Japan’s Toyo Seikan for $775 million. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2011, subject to regulatory approvals.
Alibaba's Jack Ma wants to buy Yahoo
Jack Ma, the founder and CEO of Chinese technology company Alibaba Group, is interested in buying Yahoo and has held discussions with other potential buyers about options.
Asia LPs are raising PE allocations, says Warburg Pincus' Landy
Joseph Landy, co-president of Warburg Pincus, said that limited partners in Asia are maintaining or increasing their allocations to private equity on a percentage basis, despite the global economic downturn.
Carlyle, Blackstone heads paint bleak outlook for US economy
The Carlyle Group’s co-founder David Rubenstein and Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone Group, were downbeat in their assessments of the US economy on Wednesday.
Global buyout firms warn of tightening credit markets
Henry Kravis, co-founder of KKR, said that private equity deals are becoming more expensive as debt markets tighten and the cost of capital goes up.
Trustbridge receives $30m from Arizona pension fund
Trustbridge Partners has received a $30 million commitment for its fourth fund from the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. An India sidecar fund on JPMorgan’s Asian Infrastructure & Related Resources Opportunity (AIRRO) Fund will get $25...
Samsung C&T confirms talks with Apollo over Parallel Petroleum
Samsung C&T Corp. confirmed Thursday that it is in talks to buy US oil company Parallel Petroleum from Apollo Global Management. In a statement to the South Korean Stock Exchange, Samsung C&T noted that the parties have yet to reach a definitive agreement....
InMobi tools up for Google, Apple battle
Mobile advertising network InMobi seeks to position itself as an alternative to Google and Apple. Now the company has capital to reinforce its claim.
GIC reaches agreement with Paulson & Co. over hotel assets
Government of Singapore Investment Corp. (GIC) has reached a settlement with MSR Resorts, a hotel group owned by hedge fund Paulson & Co. Under the settlement, which was approved by a US bankruptcy court judge on Tuesday, GIC will cease its near-term...
Softbank invests $200m in mobile ad network InMobi
Softbank Corp. has invested $200 million in InMobi, which claims to be the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network. The Japanese telecom firm will invest in two tranches of $100 million, one due this month and the other due in April 2012....
PE bid for Yahoo complicated by Asia business interests
Yahoo’s 40% stake in Chinese B2B platform Alibaba Group and its 35% holding in Yahoo Japan have emerged as key elements of any potential private equity bid for the US internet company.
TPG, Northstar in cross-investment deal
What does it say about the shifting sands in private equity when an Asian GP is able to get a stake in a global buyout firm? Indonesia-based Northstar Pacific has achieved just that through a cross-investment deal with TPG. The US firm will take 10-20%...
US court widens collusion probe of 2005-2007 mega deals
The mega “club deals” between some of the big global buyout firms during the 2005-2007 boom period have been put under wider scrutiny in a US antitrust lawsuit. The four-year-old case accuses 11 firms, including Blackstone Group and KKR, of colluding...
Carlyle files for IPO but listing not expected until 1H 2012
The Carlyle Group made its IPO filing on Tuesday but volatility in the global markets means the offering is unlikely to happen until the first half of 2012.
Vector, with CITIC Capital, acquires US-based graphic manufacturing group
Tech-focused PE firm Vector Capital has acquired a majority stake in Gerber Scientific, an international supplier of automated manufacturing systems used in signs, specialty graphics, apparel and the industrial sector. Chinese firm CITIC Capital Partners...
Apollo may exit Parallel Petroleum to Korea's Samsung C&T
Apollo Global Management could be on course to exit Parallel Petroleum after South Korean trading firm Samsung C&T said it was interested in purchasing the US asset. The deal is slated to be worth about KRW1 trillion ($919.6 million), Reuters reported,...
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...