North America
Yet2.com and JAIC make first VC investment
yet2.com, a US-based digital marketplace that both buys and sells technology online, has formed yet2Ventures. The fund aims to help Fortune 500 companies and other owners of venture capital investments drive value in their portfolio companies.
CIC’s new office raises questions about sovereign interests
With the announcement that the China Investment Corporation (CIC) is opening a representative office in Toronto, Canada, the implications of the move are already being bantered about by analysts, industry onlookers and government officials. Some see the...
Silicon Valley is back as China motors on
Two years ago Silicon Valley was preoccupied with the financial crisis. From Q2 2008- 2009, there was one IPO. VCs were looking at projects in the alternative energy, cleantech and life sciences spaces. “Social networking” was a known but unappreciated...
CalPERS reports double-digit gains in 2010
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) posted 12.5% net returns on investments for the 2010 calendar year, reaching $225.7 billion in assets according to the group.
Morgan Stanley closes mezz fund
Morgan Stanley Investment Management has closed its first corporate mezzanine fund, Morgan Stanley Credit Partners, at $956 million after two years of fundraising.
Global directives and PE
Private equity investing can be thwarted, stalled or propelled into action in certain countries based on legal and tax structures. AVCJ looks at what may affect the industry in 2011.
No recovery for Japan’s VC
Japan’s venture capital investment between April and October 2010 - pegged at JPY19.5 billion ($237.6 million) in total - showed no recovery from 2009, a year which saw JPY 87.5 billion ($1 billion) worth of investment.
Greater China IPOs triple numbers in the US
Exchanges on the mainland and Hong Kong have together raised nearly $120 billion to date in 2010, while the US has raised just $42 billion, a disparity that showcases the shift from slower-growth, developed economies to high-growth, emerging markets.
Blackstone may partner with Chinese food group to bid for GNC
US private equity giant Blackstone Group has emerged as the potential joint bidder for GNC Holdings Inc., a US nutritional products retailer, alongside Bright Food Group Co., the Shanghai-based food and dairy company in a deal estimated at $2.5-3 billion,...
You’ve been served
Recent developments have highlighted the personal – and legal – issues that can arise when private equity firms and their senior staff part company.
Siguler Guff files complaint against Boyazny over BRIC investment info, other data
Global private equity firm Siguler Guff & Co. has filed a complaint and summons in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against Maria Boyazny, who recently left the firm to found her own investment group, MB Global Partners, stating that "Boyazny...
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton opening Hong Kong practice
New York-headquartered law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (CGSH), has appointed Freeman Chan as a partner, starting in early 2011 concurrent with the launch of the firm’s new Hong Kong law practice.
Morgan Stanley one step closer to exiting CICC stake
China’s securities regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), has approved US investment bank Morgan Stanley's plan to sell its 34.3% stake in China International Capital Corp., (CICC), one of the country’s large Chinese brokerages...
Byun resigns from Samsung Venture
Bill Byun, formerly Managing Director at Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, the VC arm of Korean giant Samsung, has resigned from the firm.
NYSE-listed Camelot makes secondary offering
Private equity-backed New York Stock Exchange-listed Camelot Information Systems Inc., a Beijing-based provider of enterprise application services and financial industry IT services in China, has filed for a secondary offering of 7.16 million American...
KPCB invites Mary Meeker on board as partner
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), the Silicon Valley venture pioneer, has hired premier technology analyst Mary Meeker as a partner.
Norwest Venture Partners promotes Timothy Chang to Partner
Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), the US venture capital firm, has promoted Timothy Chang, its China and Asia Pacific head, from principal to partner, after he spent nearly four years at the firm.
Tech savvy
At the Intel Capital CEO Summit 2010 held last week in Huntington Beach, AVCJ sat down with the corporate VC’s senior executives - Arvind Sodhani, Keith Larson and Richard Hsu - to talk technology investing, emerging markets and what makes an investment-worthy...
Kobre & Kim opens in Hong Kong for international litigation, fund and regulatory practice
US law firm Kobre & Kim LLP, which focuses on litigation, arbitration and investigations, has announced the opening of its first Asian office, in Hong Kong, to be led by William McVovern, a former Executive Director at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong and...
Intel Capital announces 18 new investments, 4 in Asia
At its Intel Capital CEO Summit in Huntington Beach, the venture capital arm of Intel announced 18 new investments in technology-related companies based around the world, with 4 of the new portfolio companies headquartered in Asia, for a total funding...
Accel, DCM, Redpoint, industry peers invest $8.9 million in Singapore's mig33
mig33, a Singapore-based company claiming to be the world's largest mobile-first community, has received $8.9 million in Series C funding led by Pak Sugiono Wiyono, an Indonesian telecom entrepreneur and GREE, Inc., Japan's leading social networking service,...
TPG Capital, General Atlantic aiming to raise $200 million from Lenovo share sale: reports
TPG Capital, including its onetime subsidiary Newbridge Capital, and General Atlantic are planning to sell 282,263 million shares in investee Lenovo Group Ltd. on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, aiming to raise up to $200 million, according to reports.
Advantage Partners will buy TeleGuam from Shamrock Capital
Tokyo-based PE firm Advantage Partners has signed a merger agreement with Guam telecom company TeleGuam Holdings, according to TeleGuam's statement, buying the company from Shamrock Capital Advisors, a California-based PE firm.
Marks warns don’t position for prosperity: AVCJ Forum
Howard Marks, Founding Partner at Oaktree Capital and one of the world’s foremost distressed investors, shared his views on global markets in his keynote speech opening the second day of the AVCJ Forum in Hong Kong, advising caution and noting that:...