North Asia
Eight Roads leads $15m round for Japan payments provider
Eight Roads Ventures has led a $15 million Series B round of funding for Paidy, a cardless payment and instant credit service offered by Japanese financial technology platform Exchange Corporation.
Japan analytics platform Abeja gets $5m
Japanese corporate analytics platform Abeja has raised a JPY530 million ($5 million) Series B round from Innovation Corporation of Japan (INCJ) and Archetype Ventures.
INCJ leads $16m investment in Japan's Atonarp
Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) has led a $16 million funding round for Tokyo-based chemical sensor developer Atonarp.
L Capital Asia takes minority stake in Korea cosmetics player
L Capital Asia – the private equity arm of luxury goods giant LVMH – has acquired a minority stake in Clio Cosmetics, a South Korea-based color cosmetics manufacturer, for an undisclosed sum.
Polaris buys Japanese timber company
Polaris Capital has agreed to acquire 100% of Japanese precut timber and building materials company Hivic for an undisclosed sum from domestic construction group Lixil.
Bain, Goldman Sachs to acquire Korea’s Carver
Bain Capital Private Equity and Goldman Sachs have agreed to acquire a majority position in Carver Korea, a specialist cosmetics supplier.
GIC backs South Korea's Hyundai Logistics
Singapore’s GIC Private has invested in a real estate fund that acquired the Hyundai Logistics Distribution Center in South Korea.
CLSA exits Japanese used car auction operator
CLSA Capital Partners, the alternative asset management arm of Hong Kong-headquartered brokerage and investment group CLSA, has fully exited its stake in Japanese used car auction operator Mirive.
Japan's SmartNews secures $38m Series D
Tokyo-based news discovery app SmartNews has raised $38 million in a Series D round led by Development Bank of Japan.
Ping An commits $300m to PE-backed logistics platform
Ping An Real Estate, the real estate investment and asset management platform of China's Ping An Insurance Group, has committed $300 million to e-Shang Redwood (ESR), a real estate logistics platform backed by Warburg Pincus with operations in China,...
Korea's NPS allocates $605m to four local PE firms
South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has allocated KRW700 billion ($605 million) to funds managed by domestic GPs VIG Partners, Skylake Investment, Lindemann Asia Investment and SG Private Equity.
Hahn & Co moves towards control of Korea's Ssangyong Cement
Korean GP Hahn & Company will assume majority control of Ssangyong Cement with the acquisition of a stake held by Japan-listed Taiheiyo Cement for KRW454.8 billion ($394 million).
Japan succession: The long goodbye
As Masayoshi Son's recent about-turn on giving up the leadership of SoftBank suggests, Japanese founders of a certain age can be even less willing to consider succession than their younger peers
MBK makes partial exit as Komeda IPO raises $588m
MBK Partners has made a partial exit from Japan-based coffee shop chain Komeda Coffee after the company raised JPY60.2 billion ($588 million) through an IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Carlyle re-lists Japan healthcare staffing business
The Carlyle Group has re-listed Solasto Corporation on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, four and a half years after privatizing the medical staffing business, which was previously known as NIC Corp.
Korea's Dongbu agrees $174m sale to Keystone
Keystone Private Equity has agreed to acquire distressed Korean construction company Dongbu Corporation for KRW206 billion ($174 million).
Japanese LPs gradually turning to private equity - AVCJ Forum
Japanese institutional investors are increasingly interested and active in private equity, but engagement with the asset class is hampered by culture, limited human resources, and the lengthy time horizons involved, LPs told the AVCJ Japan forum.
SoftBank names successor to Nikesh Arora
Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank has named a successor to COO and President Nikesh Arora, who stepped down earlier this week.
Japan's SBI partners with Filipino VC
Japanese financial services company SBI Holdings has acquired a 35% stake in the venture arm of Investment & Capital Corporation of the Philippines (ICCP) with an aim to co-manage a VC fund.
Portfolio: New Horizon Capital and Tachikichi
New Horizon Capital has turned around ceramics maker Tachikichi by emphasizing its unique connections to Japanese culture. Now the GP hopes that strategy can take the company beyond its old restraints
GPs see traction in Japan's middle market - AVCJ Forum
PE firms are seeing more potential deal flow in Japan’s middle market as the lingering succession planning issues facing local founders intensify, and companies struggle to recruit the talent needed to support growth.
Jafco leads $20m Series A in Singapore's Quoine
Jafco has led a $20 million Series A financing round for Quoine, a Singapore-based bitcoin trading platform.
SoftBank exits Finland's Supercell to Tencent in $10.2b deal
Tencent Holdings has agreed to buy a majority stake in Finland-based mobile game developer Supercell, allowing SoftBank to exit its entire holding in the company in a deal valuing it at $10.2 billion.
SoftBank's embattled COO Nikesh Arora to step down
Nikesh Arora, the president and COO of Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank and the presumptive successor of CEO Masayoshi Son, will step down from his positions at the company.