North Asia
Fenox launches $20m VC fund with Japan's Sega Sammy
Fenox Venture Capital, a VC firm based in Silicon Valley, has partnered with Japanese entertainment company Sega Sammy Holdings to launch a $20 million fund to invest in advanced technologies globally.
INCJ leads $50m round for Singapore's Astroscale
Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) has led a $50 million Series D round for Astroscale, a Singaporean space technology company focused on orbital debris removal.
Affinity, BRV seal Shinsegae e-commerce deal
Affinity Equity Partners and BRV Capital Management have finalized an agreement with Shinsegae that will see them invest a combined KRW1 trillion ($878 million) in the South Korean retail group’s e-commerce business.
Hyundai, Yield Capital launch $100m energy VC fund
Korea’s Hyundai Motor and Yield Capital, an investment unit of Beijing-Tsinghua Industrial R&D Institute, have launched a $100 million VC fund focused on hydrogen energy.
Korea's BonAngels secures $50m for third VC fund
South Korea-based BonAngels Venture Partners has raised $50 million for its third early-stage fund.
MBK completes exit from Korea's Coway
MBK Partners has agreed to sell its remaining stake in Korean water purifier business Coway to a subsidiary of Woongjin Group – the company from which it bought the asset in 2013 – for KRW1.68 trillion ($1.48 billion).
CIC to back Japan-China industrial cooperation fund
China Investment Corporation (CIC) has reached an agreement with several Japanese financial institutions to establish a fund that will support Japanese companies looking to expand into China.
Deal focus: Meltin plans next stage in human evolution
Japanese bio-robotics start-up Meltin has received a $17.7 million Series B round from a group of investors including SBI Investment with a view to revolutionizing human-machine interfaces
KKR-owned Calsonic Kansei agrees $7.1b bolt-on
Calsonic Kansei Corporation, a Japanese automotive components manufacturer acquired by KKR last year, has agreed to buy Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ (FCA) components business for EUR6.2 billion ($7.1 billion).
SBI backs $18m round for Japan bio-robotics start-up
SBI Investment has joined a $17.7 million funding round for Meltin, a Japanese company focused on combining robotics with bio-signal processing.
Deal focus: A repeat prescription for Korean shipping
Hahn & Company has secured a $3.7 billion corporate restructuring of SK Shipping with a view to implementing the same operational improvements that have proved successful with H-Line
CLSA makes Japan staffing bolt-ons
Outsourcing Investments (OSI), a Japanese business process outsourcing (BPO) firm owned by CLSA Capital Partners (CLSA CP), has acquired two domestic staffing service providers through bolt-on transactions.
Korea's NPS taps BNK Financial head for CIO role
Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has appointed Hyo-Joon Ahn as its new CIO after struggling for more than a year to find a permanent occupant for the role.
Hahn & Co buys Korea's SK Shipping for $3.7b
Hahn & Company has completed what is described as one of the first successful non-government led corporate restructurings in Korea’s shipping industry with the $3.7 billion acquisition of SK Shipping.
GP profile: Advantage Partners
Having successfully overcome a series of post-global financial crisis troubles, Advantage Partners now has a multi-strand domestic and international offering intended to give it an edge in investments
TPG, SoftBank Ventures Korea team up for $300m China fund
TPG Capital and SoftBank Ventures Korea are launching a $300 million China fund that will invest in start-ups focusing on technology, media, and the internet.
Deal focus: Hahn & Co agrees transformative bolt-on
Hahn & Company has followed up its bumper acquisition of Hanon Systems by supporting the company in the $1.23 billion carve-out of a division from Manga International. The deal should bring more balance - and synergies - to the Hanon portfolio
J-Star buys Japanese fashion retailer
Japanese mid-market private equity firm J-Star has acquired Wego, a domestic fashion brand that has 185 stores nationwide and annual sales of more than JPY35 billion ($310 million).
Asia leveraged finance: Institutional aspirations
PE firms can obtain financing for leveraged buyouts in Asia on increasingly favorable terms, but this doesn’t necessarily point to institutionalization – or at least, not yet. For now, banks still lead the way
Hahn & Co-owned Hanon agrees $1.2b bolt-on acquisition
Hanon Systems, an auto parts manufacturer owned by Hahn & Company and formerly known as Halla Visteon Climate Control, has agreed a $1.23 billion bolt-on acquisition of Magna International’s fluid pressure and controls business.
Japan payments player Origami raises $60m Series C
Origami, a Tokyo-based mobile payments platform, has raised JPY6.6 billion ($60 million) in Series C funding from investors including SBI Investment, Union Pay International, Mitsui Sumitomo Card, and Credit Saison.
AIC wins domestic PE mandate from Chikyoren
Japan’s Pension Fund Association for Local Government Officials (Chikyoren) has awarded a domestic private equity mandate to Alternative Investment Capital (AIC).
Baring Asia to invest $538m in Japan's Pioneer
Baring Private Equity Asia has agreed to invest up to JPY60 billion ($538 million) in Pioneer Corp, by subscribing to a new share issue by the struggling Japanese conglomerate.
NSSK acquires operator of Japan's Thank You Mart chain
Japanese private equity firm NSSK has acquired Elsonic, operator of the Thank You Mart retail chain, for an undisclosed sum.