North Asia

Hahn & Co to buy Korea Line via bankrupcty process

Hahn & Co. has been selected by a bankruptcy court as the preferred bidder for a 50% controlling stake in Korea Line, South Korea’s fourth-largest shipping company. The enterprise value of the transaction is KRW1.1 trillion ($1 billion), with Hahn & Co....

Korean couples app raises $3m Series B funding

Korean social media application Between has raised a $3 million Series B funding round from new and existing venture capital players. The proceeds will be used to expand the company's presence outside its home market.

Samsung Ventures invests in Fixmo

Samusung Venture Investment Corp, the venture capital unit of Samsung Group, has invested in Canada's Fixmo, a mobile security solutions firm. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

J-Star completes clothing brand turnaround

Three and-a-half years ago, Olive des Olive, a hip teen clothing-brand based out of Tokyo, was suffering. Having filed for bankruptcy, its reputation frayed by allegations that its clothing came from a factory in China and had been re-labeled “Made in...

Advantage sees 7x return on coffee chain deal

When Advantage Partenrs paid JPY15 billion ($146 million) for a 78% stake in Komeda Coffee in 2008, the chain was to a certain extent a victim of its own success. After more than 40 years of expansion the company had grown to around 300 stores and its...

GPs upbeat on ailing Japan

Private equity investors expect to see more buyout opportunities in Japan despite a weak deal environment in recent years and ongoing concerns about the country's economy.

KKR boosts Asia business by offering outbound deal access

Building relationships and generating deal flow in Asia doesn’t necessarily involve starting in Asia, according to Joe Bae, regional head of KKR. The private equity firm has made inroads in Japan, South Korea and China by providing local partners with...

The debt deadline: Japans's SMEs at a crossroads
The debt deadline: Japans's SMEs at a crossroads

Japan’s Debt Moratorium Law, seen by some industry participants as an impediment to PE deal flow in the last three year, is set to expire at the end of March. Does this spell new opportunities for the industry?

Carlyle sees return on capsule innovation

Gelatin has been used to produce two-piece drug capsules for nearly 100 years, largely thanks to its ability to dissolve easily and be manufactured to a uniform thickness. The problem is that the manufacturing technique has never been all that kosher,...

Positive vibes spread on Korea

As I noted in a viewpoint piece last September, private equity in South Korea is seeing a revival internationally. The market has steadily worked its way back from one populated almost exclusively by local GPs – most of them subsidiaries of securities...

Cerberus begins Aozora exit with $1.8b sell down

Cerberus is to sell the bulk of its 58% holding in Japan's Aozora Bank through a public market sale that could generate up to JPY158.1 billion ($1.8 billion). The US firm's stake would fall to 8%.

Mizuho, JBIC to set up $183m SME private equity fund

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Mizuho Corporate Bank (Mizuho CB) and Mizuho Bank will form the Mizuho ASEAN PE Fund to support the overseas expansion of Japanese mid-tier and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Indonesia's Berrybenka gets funding from Gree Ventures

Gree Ventures, the VC arm of social Japanese social networking giant Gree, has completed its third investment in Indonesia, providing a Series A round of funding to fashion-focused e-commerce start-up Berrybenka. The size of the investment was not disclosed....