Region
Strategic imperative: Chinese corporates embrace PE
Corporate private equity arms are catching on in China as companies beyond the tech space develop an appetite for investment. What does it mean for the industry’s independent incumbents?
Battles averted?
No one emerged from the debacle at NVC Lighting Technology looking particularly good.
Equis, Partners Group invest $250m in Japan solar platform
Equis Funds Group and Partners Group have led a $250 million equity investment in a dedicated Japanese solar platform to be operated by Nippon Renewable Energy (NRE). For both groups, it represents a first foray into Japanese infrastructure and a solar...
Primavera supports $1.9b Shanda Games take-private
Primavera Capital is supporting a buyout of NASDAQ-listed Chinese online game developer and operator Shanda Games that values the company at $1.9 billion. The PE firm is backing controlling shareholder Shanda Interactive Entertainment in the deal.
CHAMP Ventures plans IPO for SG Fleet
CHAMP Ventures is seeking to exit its 42% stake in Australian vehicle leasing and fleet management business SG Fleet Holdings by way of an IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
TAL Education invests $25m in VC-backed Babytree
TAL Education, a China-based after-school tutoring services provider, has acquired a minority stake in childcare website Babytree for RMB150 million ($25 million). The online baby nursing information provider secured previous investments from Matrix Partners,...
India's National Innovation Council launches $792m fund
India's National Innovation Council (NIC) and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MMSME) have together launched a new venture fund targeting INR50 billion ($792 million).
Suning acquires VC-backed group buying site Manzuo
Suning Commerce, a Chinese home appliance retailer, has acquired group buying site Manzuo.com. Transaction terms were not disclosed but the investment was said to facilitate a full exit for VC backer KPCB China.
PricePanda gets $3m from Tengelmann for SE Asia expansion
Rocket Internet’s price comparison platform, PricePanda, has raised $3 million from German retailer Tengelmann Group to expand its Southeast Asia footprint. It currently operates in Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore.
CDH to close China fund at $2.55b
CDH Investments will reach a final close on its fifth US dollar-denominated China fund at the end of next week, having raised the hard cap to $2.55 billion in order to accommodate investor demand.
Hong Kong-listed A8 commits to tech-focused Qingsong Fund
A8 Digital Music Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed media corporation, has committed RMB20 million ($3 million) to acquire an approximately 6% interest in Qingsong Fund II.
Legend re-ups in US sports tech manufacturer Zepp
Legend Capital has re-upped in athlete training technology developer Zepp Labs, participating in a $15 million Series B round of funding led by GGV Capital. Bertelsmann and Cherubic Ventures also committed capital.
CICC, Qianhai Financial Holdings launch $3.3b PE fund
China International Capital Corporation (CICC) has teamed up with Qianhai Financial Holdings, a wholly-owned unit of the Administrative Bureau of Qianhai, to launch a private equity fund, targeting RMB20 billion ($3.3 billion).
ASA calls for Billabong delay over Oaktree, Centerbridge deal
The Australian Shareholders Association (ASA) has called on Australian surf wear company Billabong International to delay a shareholder vote on a decision that could give PE creditors Oaktree Capital Management and Centerbridge Partners as much as 40.8%...
Blume Ventures leads seed round for India's Turtle Yogi
Blume Ventures has led a seed round of funding for Bangalore-based Turtle Yogi Technologies, which runs cloud-based video calling service 1Click.io. Chennai Angels member R. Narayanan and Shead Holdings are also investors in the round.
China's Alibaba Group makes $15 million investment in 1stdibs
Alibaba Group has backed New York-based luxury e-commerce site 1stdibs with a $15 million Series C investment.
State Street opens Shanghai office
State Street has opened an office in Shanghai to provide fund administration, accounting and related services to private equity, real estate and hedge fund clients with business development initiatives in China.
PE firms to bid for China Huarong stake – report
A group of around 20 investors are said to be preparing to submit first-round offers for a minority stake worth $2 billion in China Huarong Asset Management ahead of the non-performing loan (NPL) manager’s IPO.
Japan's Venture United raises $11m fund
Venture United - the corporate investment arm of Japanese media group United - has raised a new JPY1.26 billion yen ($11 million) fund focusing on internet-related start-ups.
CyberAgent Ventures backs Japan language learning site
CyberAgent Ventures, the corporate VC arm of the company behind Japanese blogging site Ameba, has invested an undisclosed amount in language learning platform Lang-8.
Indian digital education firm iProf raises $9 million
DMG Information, a division of the UK’s Daily Mail and General Trust, has led a $9 million Series B round of funding in Indian digital education firm iProf. Existing investors Norwest Venture Partners and IDG Ventures also participated.
US judge imposes suspension on Big Four accounting firms' China units
A US judge has ruled that the China-based units of the Big Four global accounting firms should be suspended from auditing US-listed companies for the next six months. They are accused of failing to disclose information to US regulators investigating Chinese...
Yunfeng Capital, Alibaba to buy CITIC 21CN for $171m
Yunfeng Capital and Alibaba Group together plan to buy a 54.3% stake in pharmaceutical data provider CITIC 21CN, a Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate CITIC Group, for HK$1.33 billion ($171 million).
Singapore's Luminor Capital invests $6.1m Swiss NGFI
Luminor Capital, a Singapore-based private equity firm, has invested CHF5.5 million ($6.1 million)in Switzerland's Next Generation Finance Invest (NGFI).