Regions
Xiaomi’s Lei Jun leads $100m round China’s Vancl – update
Lei Jun, Chinese super angle and co-founder of smart phone maker Xiaomi, has led a $100 million round for Vancl, China’s largest online clothing retailer. Existing investors Temasek Holdings, IDG Capital Partners, Ceyuan Ventures and SAIF Partners also...
GE, SAC exit Taiwan’s Cosmos Bank
GE Capital and SAC Capital will exit Taiwan’s Cosmos Bank to domestic financial services conglomerate China Development Financial Holding Corp. The announcement of the NT$23.1 billion ($762.4 million) deal, which was priced below market value, saw Cosmos...
Adveq in $200m Australia almonds play
Adveq’s real assets division has completed the purchase of 18,000 hectares of almond orchards in Australia for A$211 million ($200 million) from commodities conglomerate Olam International. Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan and Danica...
CITIC leads $41m China tech fund launch
A group of investors, including CITIC Capital and the Shenzhen municipal government have launched a RMB250 million ($41 million) venture fund to invest in technology companies.
Jafco-backed Eleven Bio raises $50m in NASDAQ IPO
Eleven Biotherapeutics, a US biopharma company firm backed by Japan’s Jafco Ventures, has raised $50 million through its NASDAQ IPO – short of the $69 million initially sought.
TMall’s Inman Apparel receives funding from IDG, Alibaba – report
IDG Capital Partners and Alibaba Group have reportedly invested in Inman Apparel, a Guangzhou-based clothing brand that sells its products through Alibaba’s TMall and Taobao platforms.
American Express VC unit backs India's Capillary Technologies
American Express Ventures (AEV), the corporate venture arm of credit card company American Express, has made its first India investment, backing Bangalore-based cloud software solutions provider Capillary Technologies.
Portfolio: STIC Investments and Access Bio
STIC Investments backed Access Bio when the Korean-led malaria testing technology player wanted to buy key components and expand output. Now KOSDAQ-listed, the company has its eye on specialty diagnostics
Premji tries Myntra on for size
The growth of Indian e-commerce is well documented and recent estimates by online marketplace and industry poster child Flipkart illustrate just how much farther it has to go. According to Sachin Bansal, Flipkart’s co-founder and CEO, e-commerce grew...
Catalyst completes cool exit
Throughout last year's election campaign, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged to repeal the country’s carbon tax on taking office. Five months on, he has yet to do it and the debate rumbles on as to whether the drop in emissions – 0.3% for...
Held to account: The Big Four in China
A legal ruling might ban the Big Four accounting firms’ China affiliates from working on US-listed Chinese companies. VCs aren’t worried about IPO prospects, but there are longer-term concerns
Execution issues
Another week, another divestment by a Japanese conglomerate. This time it was Sony, which agreed to sell its personal computer business to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) in a deal thought to be worth JPY40-50 billion ($394-493 million).
Temasek, Ceyuan, IDG, SAIF invest $100m in China’s Vancl
Vancl, China’s largest online clothing retailer, has raised more than $100 million in funding from existing investors Temasek Holdings, IDG Capital Partners, Ceyuan Ventures and SAIF Partners.
Alibaba seeks full acquisition of AutoNavi
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has offered to buy the 72% of NASDAQ-listed AutoNavi Holdings that it doesn’t already own for $1.13 billion. The take-private deal would value the digital mapping and navigation firm, which has previously received...
Sunsuper acquires remaining holiday parks stake, PE exits
Sunsuper, the Australian superannuation fund, has acquired control of Discovery Holiday Parks, paving an exit for Next Capital, Allegro Funds and Macquarie Funds. The deal, which values the asset at A$240 million ($215 million), will see Sunsuper raise...
CDH Ventures invests in online travel site Lailaihui
CDH Venture has led a new funding round for Lailaihui, a Chinese backpacker travel service start-up, alongside existing investor Unity Ventures. Transaction details were not disclosed but the investment was said to be about $1 million.
VCs pump another $13m into PubMatic
Nokia Growth Partners (NGP) has led a $13 million round of funding for PubMatic, an advertising platform based in India and US. Existing investors August Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Helion Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners also took part in the...
Infinity-backed WLCSP raises $118m in Shanghai IPO
China Wafer Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP) - a chip-maker backed by Israel's Infinity Group and China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Ventures (CSVC) - has raised RMB715 million ($118 million) after listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
WestBridge raises further $325m for India fund
WestBridge Capital has raised an additional $325 million from investors for its 2011 vintage WestBridge Crossover Fund, taking the corpus size to $850 million. The vehicle, which targets PIPE deals, is described as an evergreen fund without a specific...
Japan's Mitsui, RDIF invest in Russia-based Cotton Way
Japan's Mitsui & Co has teamed up with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to invest in Cotton Way, a commercial laundry and textile management company based in Moscow. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
PE-backed Thomas Cook India, Sterling Holiday to merge
Thomas Cook India, which was bought by Fairbridge Capital in 2012, has agreed to merge with Sterling Holding Resorts India, another private equity-backed enterprise, in a part-equity, part-cash deal worth INR8.7 billion ($140 million).
Sequoia India leads $18.8m Series B round for Truecaller
Sequoia Capital India has led a $18.8 million Series B round of funding for Truecaller, a Swiss mobile application that helps users identify spam callers. Existing investor Open Ocean, company chairman Stefan Lennhammer, and an undisclosed Silicon Valley-based...
PE-backed Luye, Rundong target HK IPOs – report
Two private equity-backed Chinese companies – Rundong Automobile Group and Luye Pharma Group – are reportedly planning to raise a total of $1.5 billion through Hong Kong listings.
KKR eyes Asia opportunities as valuations fall
KKR sees increasing opportunities in Asia for private equity and special situations as valuations fall amid growing investor uncertainty about the prospects for emerging markets globally.