Region
GPs & SPACs: Filthy lucre?
The global SPAC craze is percolating into Asia, with private equity firms among the sponsors. LPs aren’t necessarily comfortable with the development, but there’s only so much they can do about it
China VCs back See Fund's debut vehicle
See Fund, an investment firm established by the founder of Chinese artificial intelligence chip start-up DeePhi Technology, has raised RMB200 million ($31 million) for its debut fund.
India's Oaks raises $55m for consumer PE fund
India’s Oaks Asset Management has raised INR4 billion ($55 million) for its second mid-market consumer private equity fund. The overall target is INR5 billion.
PAG acquires Australia's Unispace
PAG Asia Capital has acquired Australia-based Unispace with a view to expanding the office design and construction consultancy across Asia.
VCs commit $50m to China's Medilink Therapeutics
Suzhou Medilink Therapeutics, a Chinese biotech company specializing in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) commonly used as targeted therapies for treating cancer, has raised $50 million in Series A funding across two tranches.
OrbiMed raises $800m for Asia life sciences fund
OrbiMed has closed its latest Asia life sciences fund, which primarily invests in China and India, with $800 million in commitments.
China cloud IoT provider Tuya files for US IPO
Tuya, a Chinese software platform for internet-of-things (IoT) systems that mainly offers platform-as-a-service (PaaS) products is pursuing a US IPO.
Australia's Employment Hero gets $35m Series D
Australian online human resources services start-up Employment Hero has raised A$45 million ($35 million) in Series D funding led by domestic recruitment business Seek.
Singapore food tech start-up raises $10m seed round
Singapore-based Next Gen, which markets a vegetarian chicken brand called Tindle, has raised $10 million in what is being called the largest-ever seed round in the food tech space.
Indus Valley raises $17.5m for Pakistan VC fund
Pakistan-focused VC firm Indus Valley Capital has raised $17.5 million for its debut fund focused on early-stage start-ups. The initial target was $15 million.
ESG & operations: Compliance corner
Few mid-market private equity firms in Asia have dedicated ESG personnel and this is not necessarily an obstacle to progress. As compliance and reporting burdens increase, the status quo may change
Lunar buys majority stake in Hong Kong IVF business
Chinese middle-market buyout firm Lunar has agreed to acquire a women’s health and IVF business from Mason Group, a Hong Kong conglomerate with interests in financial services and healthcare, for HK$268 million ($34.5 million).
Hillhouse launches China sports retail JV with US-based Fanatics
Hillhouse Capital has established a China joint venture with Fanatics, a US-based sports retailer that specializes in licensed sports apparel.
Malaysia's EPF awards co-investment SMAs to global firms
BlackRock, HarbourVest Partners, and Partners Group have been awarded co-investment mandates by Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) totaling $600 million.
Blackbird, King River lead Series B for Australia's Lexer
Blackbird Ventures and King River Capital have led a A$33.5 million ($26 million) Series B investment in Australian retail industry data services provider Lexer.
China EV battery maker raises $542m Series A
Svolt Energy Technology, formerly the battery business unit of Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor, has raised a RMB3.5 billion ($542 million) Series A round featuring a string of government-linked investors.
Tiger leads $100m Series C for India's Infra.Market
Tiger Global Management has led a $100 million Series C round for India’s Infra.Market, valuing the construction materials marketplace at $1 billion.
VCs flock to Chinese chip designer Moore Threads
Moore Threads, a Chinese chip designer established as recently as last October by a team from Nvidia, has closed two funding rounds amounting to several billion renminbi.
FountainVest buys China logistics business
FountainVest Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in China-based CJ Rokin Logistics from Korea’s CJ Logistics for KRW733.8 billion ($661.3 million).
Everstone exits India bakery business
Everstone Capital has exited Indian bread brand Modern Foods to a local subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo, a global strategic headquartered in Mexico, for an undisclosed sum.
New Frontier Japan targets $94m for second fund
New Frontier Japan Investment (NFJI), a lower middle-market Japanese private equity firm, is looking to raise JPY10 billion ($94.4 million) for its second fund.
China's WuXi Diagnostics raises $150m
WuXi Diagnostics, a joint venture China diagnostics business set up by Hong Kong-listed pharmaceutical outsourcing giant WuXi AppTec and US-based Mayo Clinic has completed a $150 million Series B funding round.
Q&A: Affirma Capital's Ivo Philipps
Affirma Capital came into being 18 months ago as Standard Chartered’s private equity team spun out with most of the remaining balance sheet assets. COO Ivo Philipps explains the middle and back office transition
LeapFrog names co-head of healthcare
Asia and Africa-focused impact investor LeapFrog Investments has recruited Biju Mohandas as a partner and global co-lead for healthcare.