North Asia
Globis invests $6.7m in Japan's Neo Career
Globis Capital Partners has led a JPY800 million ($6.7 million) round of investment in Neo Career, a Japanese firm that offers online staffing and recruitment services.
BlackRock PE leads $300m round for Korea's Coupang
BlackRock Private Equity Partners has led a $300 million round of funding for Coupang, South Korea’s largest online retailer. It has now raised nearly $500 million from private investors.
AVCJ Awards: Exit of the Year - Mid Cap: United Cinemas
United Cinemas was struggling in the face of macro headwinds and low consumer confidence, but Advantage Partners’ saw the bigger picture and delivered blockbuster returns
AVCJ Awards: Operational Value Add & Exit of the Year - Large Cap: Oriental Brewery
Affinity Equity Partners and KKR made Oriental Brewery the market leader in Korea’s beer industry, then exited via Asia’s largest-ever trade sale. For this and other activities, Affinity was also named Firm of the Year
Carlyle, Unison to exit Japan semiconductor firm Covalent
The Carlyle Group and Unison Capital are to exit their stake in Covalent Materials, a Japanese semiconductor materials manufacturer, to US ceramics group CoorsTek.
Cool Japan funds invest $16.7m in ramen chain
The Japanese government-backed Cool Japan Fund has agreed to invest JPY2 billion ($16.7 million) in Chikaranomoto Holdings, the restaurant operator behind international ramen noodle chain Hakata Ippudo.
CITIC launches tender offer for Japan's Schott Moritex
CITIC Capital Partners has launched a tender offer to acquire a controlling stake in Schott Moritex Corporation, a Japan-based manufacturer of vision lenses for machines.
Japan PE acquires plastics manufacturer, elderly care business
Mid-market GP Japan Private Equity has acquired plastics manufacturer Sekisui Chemicals and care home services business Healthy Service via its third buyout fund.
Japanese crowdsourcing platform gets $8.5m from VCs
Lancers, a Japanese crowdsourcing platform, has raised JPY1 billion ($8.5 million) from six VC and strategic investors, including Gree Ventures, Globis Capital Partners and GMO Venture Partners.
TPG to exit stake in Japanese toy maker
TPG will exit Japanese toymaker Tomy through a buyback by the company. Tomy has agreed to acquire the private equity firm’s entire equity holding and also redeem its convertible bond holdings.
Samyang named as SCPE partner in Korean packaging deal
South Korean conglomerate Samyang Corporation has emerged as Standard Chartered Private Equity’s (SCPE) in the acquisition of a packaging business from another conglomerate, Hyosung Corporation.
Korean government's Woori Bank sale flounders again
The South Korean government will make another attempt to sell its controlling stake in Woori Bank early next year following the collapse of the latest in a string of sale processes last week.
CVC invests $150m in Marubeni's Japan broadband business
CVC Capital Partners has acquired a 50% stake in enterprise-focused Japanese telecommunications carrier Arteria Networks - a unit of Japanese conglomerate Marubeni - for $150 million.
Nippon Life raises stake in India's Reliance Capital
Japanese insurer Nippon Life has agreed to increase its stake in India's Reliance Capital Asset Management and could end up owning 49% of the company.
Goldman leads $36m round for Korean food-ordering platform
A Goldman Sachs-led consortium has invested KRW40 billion ($36 million) in Woowa Brothers Corp, owner and operator of Baedal Minjok, South Korea’s leading digital food-ordering platform.
Visteon confirms PE talks over Korea divestment
US auto parts maker Visteon Corp. has confirmed it is in negotiations with private equity firm Hahn & Co. over the potential sale of its South Korea-based subsidiary Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp. (HVCC).
Korean court favors Lone Star in $159m KEB tax case
Lone Star Funds is closing in on a KRW177.2 billion ($159 million) payout from the South Korea tax authorities after a court said the PE firm should be refunded taxes levied on its sale of a stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB).
Fidelity, Arbour lead $8.5m round for Japan fin-tech start-up
Japanese finance technology start-up Accounting SaaS Japan (ASJ) has secured a JPY1 billion ($8.5 million) Series B round of funding from Fidelity Growth Partners Japan, Arbor Ventures and iMercury Capital.
Blackstone acquires GE's Japan real estate business
The Blackstone Group has bought General Electric's (GE) residential real estate business in Japan for JPY190 billion.
Japan VC-backed internet firm Kayac files for IPO
Kayac, a Japanese internet company backed by Globis Capital Partners and CyberAgent, has filed for its IPO on the Mothers (market of the high-growth and emerging stocks) section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).
Japan's GPIF names Hiro Mizuno CIO
Coller Capital partner Hiro Mizuno has been named CIO of Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). His appointment comes as the fund prepares to boost its exposure to alternative assets.
JIP sells Japanese phone retailer ITX for $433m
Japanese electronics retailer Nojima has agreed to acquire a 100% stake in mobile phone retailer ITX from Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) for JPY51.3 billion ($433 million).
Jafco invests $1.2m in Japan's Interactive Solutions
Jafco Ventures has invested JPY150 million ($1.2 million) in Interactive Solutions, the Tokyo-based start-up behind enterprise marketing and productivity app Interactive-Pro.
J-Star in hospice care double deal
Not for the first time, J-Star planted the seeds of its latest investment while in pursuit of another deal.