North Asia
Japan's Endeavor United secures two industrials deals
Endeavour United, a Japanese private equity firm established by the team behind turnaround investor Phoenix Capital, has completed two acquisitions in the packaging and chemicals industries.
Carlyle Asia secures exit as Permira buys Golden Goose for $1.4b
Golden Goose, an Italian luxury footwear brand acquired three years ago by The Carlyle Group’s Europe and Asia funds, has been sold to Permira for around EUR1.3 billion ($1.4 billion).
Portfolio: Unison Capital and CHCP
Through its Community Healthcare Coordination Platform, Unison Capital wants to bring efficiencies and economies of scale to parts of Japan’s healthcare sector that have been isolated from private markets
Deal focus: Counterintuition pays off for NSSK
Japanese mid-market buyout firm NSSK has executed a partial exit of Vati, a small but strong performer in the country’s competitive nursing care space
Japanese advisor matching network set for $54m IPO
VisasQ, a Japanese matchmaking platform that connects companies with relevant advisors, is looking to raise approximately JPY5.97 billion ($54 million) through a Tokyo IPO that will provide partial exits for several VC backers.
Polaris pursues take-private of Japan's Sogo Medical
Polaris Capital Group has made an offer to privatize Sogo Medical Holdings, a Japanese pharmacy chain operator and B2B healthcare management platform, at a valuation of JPY76.3 billion ($694 million).
Hahn & Co agrees $322m acquisition of SK Chemicals unit
Hahn & Company has agreed to buy the biofuels division of South Korea-based SK Chemicals for KRW382.5 billion ($322 million). It is the private equity firm’s fourth carve-out of an SK Group-owned business.
Capital Dynamics loses Asia primaries head
Kazushige Kobayashi (pictured), a Tokyo-based managing director at Capital Dynamics and head of primaries coverage in Asia, is departing the firm after nearly 10 years.
NSSK sells Japan nursing care business
Japanese mid-market buyout firm NSSK has secured a partial exit from nursing care provider Vati through a sale of the business to an investor group that includes Neuberger Berman.
Samsung Ventures backs Japan tourism operator
Samsung Ventures has led a group of Korean investors in a Series B round for H2O Hospitality, which claims to be Japan’s largest vacation rentals provider.
Portfolio level HR: Human traffic
Private equity firms in Asia are paying more attention to recruitment at the portfolio level, in some cases allocating dedicated in-house resources. How is it impacting attitudes towards leadership change?
Advantage-owned Japanese funeral services business to go public
Advantage Partners is set to make a partial exit from Kizuna Holdings Corporation, a Japanese funeral services business it acquired for around JPY2 billion ($18 million) in 2016, through an IPO.
Integral pursues $316m buyout of Japanese software developer
Integral Corporation has won management support for a tender offer for Japanese software development and IT consulting business Mamezou Holdings at a valuation of JPY34.4 billion ($316 million).
Bain pursues $824m buyout of Japan's Showa Aircraft Industry
Bain Capital has submitted a tender offer for Show Aircraft Industries, a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in paneling for aircraft interiors, that values the business at JPY90 billion ($824 million).
Japan's J-Star agrees IT jobs platform acquisition
Japanese private equity firm J-Star has agreed to acquire Gino, a local IT industry job search platform, for an undisclosed sum.
Japanese professional services marketplace raises $36m
Japanese start-up Minma, which operates P2P jobs and services marketplace Curama, has raised a JPY4 billion ($36.5 million) Series C round led by Nissay Capital, the VC unit of Nippon Life Insurance.
AVCJ Awards 2019: Exit of the Year - Small Cap: Gong Cha
Unison Capital took a Korean game plan global with the Gong Cha bubble tea chain. Attention to local tastes, however, was the key to the enterprise
Fund focus: Korea’s midcap buyout space comes into focus
VIG Partners believes its recent $810 million fundraise validates the firm's middle-market strategy and spur the emergence of new domestic GPs in this area
Goldman Sachs, SK back Korea cold chain play
Goldman Sachs and SK Group have committed a combined KRW50 billion ($43 million) to a Korean expansion by cold chain logistics operator Belstar Superfreeze.
Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform raises $48m
Inagora - operator of an e-commerce platform that sells Japanese premium products to Chinese customers - has raised JPY5.3 billion ($48m) from SBI holdings, pharmacy chain Sugi Holdings and Xinjin Holding, the cross-border alternative investment arm of...
Longreach buys another Japanese coffee shop chain
The Longreach Group has made its second foray into Japan’s coffee shop space with an agreement to acquire Chat Noir, operator of more than 190 stores nationwide, primarily under the Caffe Veloce brand.
VIG reaches $810m final close on fourth Korean fund
VIG Partners has closed its fourth Korea-focused fund at $810 million, with approximately half the commitments coming from international investors. This compares to 30% for Fund III, which closed at $600 million in 2017.
The crystal ball: Predictions for 2020
Industry experts weigh in as a range of macro factors promise to reshape markets across the region. Political, demographic, and scientific variables loom large
Delivery Hero to buy Korea's Woowa Brothers for $4b
Food delivery start-up Delivery Hero has agreed to acquire Korean peer Woowa Brothers in a deal that values the target at $4 billion and will facilitate exits for several private equity investors.
