Region
Singtel Innov8's Bao Bean joins SOS Ventures
William Bao Bean, formerly managing director with corporate venture unit Singtel Innov8, has joined SOS Ventures as its investment partner in China.
GIC leads $150m round for US e-commerce start-up Square - report
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Private is said to have led a $150 million Series E round investment in US e-payments start-up Square.
Matrix India backs recruitment service GrownOut
Matrix Partners India has provided a first institutional round of funding for GrownOut, an online platform that helps companies identify potential recruits on the basis of referrals sourced via employees’ professional networks.
Portfolio: First Reserve and KrisEnergy
In backing oil and gas start-up KrisEnergy, First Reserve put its faith in a rare commodity in Southeast Asia – an independent team that knows where the plumb assets are and how to access them
Google Capital in debut China VC investment
Google's discomfort at the growing level of censorship imposed on US internet players by the Chinese authorities after 2008 saw the company withdraw from the M&A scene. There were no deals at all until last week, when Google Capital – a $300 million growth-stage...
3i completes med-tech upscale job
When John Thomson, head of 3i Group’s Southeast Asia business, met Singaporean entrepreneur Jay Pok in the mid-2000s, he was on the lookout for a medical technology investment. But Pok’s company, medical cable maker LHi Technology, though impressive,...
SCPE ready to bet big on Vietnam
Private equity investors have committed an annual average of $364 million to Vietnam-based companies over the past 10 years. In the space of three weeks, Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) alone has deployed over one third of this total.
Ayannah banks on the unbanked
Explaining why cross-border remittances into the Philippines are not his core business, Mikko Perez points to Hong Kong’s Central district on a Sunday, when the domestic helpers are out in force. “It’s so cut throat – we are talking basis points of spread...
Family ties: Asian family offices as LPs
As wealth in Asia has grown, so has the number of family offices. As these investors become more institutionalized, what can they do for private equity and what can private equity do for them?
India's IPO pipeline
Indian test preparation services provider CL Educate filed for an IPO last week. Just over half of the offering will comprise shares held by the promoter and private equity backer Gaja Capital. It should come as welcome respite for the GP – which first...
Blackstone, Embassy to acquire Four Seasons Bangalore
The Blackstone Group and Indian developer Embassy Property Developments have acquired a 73% stake in Bangalore-based project comprising the Four Seasons Hotel and a luxury home development from Goldman Sachs.
Blackstone-owned Hilton sells New York's Waldolf Astoria to China insurer
China’s Anbang Insurance Group has agreed to buy the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York from Hilton Worldwide Holdings, a portfolio company of The Blackstone Group, for $1.95 billion.
Permira in talks to sell Arysta to Platform Specialty – report
Arysta LifeScience, the Japanese agricultural chemicals maker owned by Permira that last month filed for a US IPO, is said to be in talks with Platform Specialty Products over a potential acquisition.
Club Med board endorses improved Fosun buyout offer
The board of directors of Club Méditerranée (Club Med), the France-based vacation resorts operator, unanimously recommended that shareholders should accept an improved takeover bid from Chinese conglomerate Fosun International and its partners.
IFC to invest $100m in India's Bilt Paper
International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed to acquire a 14.29% stake in Bilt Paper, a subsidiary of Indian paper manufacturer Ballarpur Industries, for $100 million.
Jafco commits $4.6m in Japan footwear site Locondo
Jafco has invested JPY500 million ($4.6 million) in Japanese footwear e-commerce start-up Locondo in a Series C round of funding.
Marunouchi exits Japan supermarket chain to Lawson for $501m
Marunouchi Capital - the private equity arm of Mitsubishi Corp - has exited Japanese high-end supermarket chain Seijo Ishii to convenience store operator Lawson for JPY55 billion ($501 million) including debt.
Vista Equity acquires Indian-owned TIBCO in $4.3b take-private
Tech-focused GP Vista Equity Partners has agreed to buy TIBCO Software, the US-listed business software provider founded by Indian entrepreneur Vivek Ranadivé, in a deal worth $4.3 billion including debt.
VC-backed Chinese car rental firm eHi files for US IPO
EHi Car Services, a Shanghai-based car rental company backed by a string of VC investors, has filed for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Shaw Kwei invests $17m in Singapore marine logistics firm
Greater China and Southeast Asia-focused private equity firm Shaw Kwei & Partners has paid $17 million for a 60% stake in Singapore marine logistics firm Amos International.
Southern Capital agrees $180m Singapore engineering carve-out
Southern Capital Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in United Engineers’ Singapore-listed engineering and construction division for S$230.2 million ($180 million) in cash.
GGV, Tencent invest $13m in US tracking device maker
Tile, a US start-up that makes devices used to track lost items, has raised $13 million in funding from China-based investors.
NZ regulator targets Archer consortium over aborted Abano deal
A consortium of investors including Archer Capital is subject to a civil action launched by New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) over an unsuccessful bid for Abano Healthcare Group.
VIDEO: Yilu Zhao of Qunar
Many VC-backed start-ups are cautious about accepting strategic capital due to concerns that these large investors will exert too much influence, particularly in terms of a potential public market exit. Yilu Zhao, chief strategy officer at Chinese travel...