Regions
Sequoia backs Chinese vegetable producer MBO
Sequoia Capital has teamed up with the chairman and CEO of Chinese vegetable producer Le Gaga Holdings to submit a buyout offer that values the NASDAQ-listed company at around $183 million. Le Gaga has seen its net profit increase fourfold over the last...
SparkLabs selects 10 companies for its second start-up class
Korean start-up accelerator SparkLabs has selected a second class of 10 for its mentoring program. The program is three months in length and provides funding, office space and access to a network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and angel investors.
Kae Capital seeds India language-learning platform
Indian venture capital firm Kae Capital has invested an undisclosed amount for a minority stake in Intap Labs, the start-up behind language-learning platform CultureAlley.com.
VC-backed Just Dial's IPO 11x subscribed
Indian search engine Just Dial’s IPO was subscribed 11.6 times when it closed on Wednesday. The company will raise INR8.2-9.5 billion ($148-171 million), depending on the final issue price.
Highland Capital appoints Korea BD director
Highland Capital Management has appointed Jun Park as director of business development in South Korea, with a brief to explore investment opportunities in the country.
CDH to make distributions of $1b for the year
CDH Investments has distributed $500 million to LPs in the last seven months and is on course to return a similar amount by September. The China GP has made full exits from real estate developer Sunac and auto parts firm Nanjing Aotecar during the period,...
DBS wins approval to buy Indonesia bank stake from Temasek
DBS Group Holdings has won approval to buy a 40% stake in Indonesian mid-sized lender Bank Danamon for $2.75 billion from Singapore state investor Temasek. It will be the biggest acquisition in the country's history.
SEAVI invests $17m in Indonesian port manager
SEAVI Advent Private Equity, the Asian arm of Advent International, has made a $17 million investment into Multicon Indrajaya Terminal, an Indonesian port depot manager.
China's Cathay resumes pursuit of Discovery Metals
Chinese private equity firm Cathay Fortune Corporation (CFC) has made a renewed takeover bid for Australia-listed mining company Discovery Metals. The offer is the latest development in ongoing spat between CFC and Discovery Metals, whose principal asset...
Financial services in China: Carving a niche
With investment opportunities in China's traditional banking and insurance industries limited, private equity firms are looking to niche financial services. What have they found in the shadows?
AMCG invests $30m in Chevalier for Moraitis acquisition
Asia Mezzanine Capital Group (AMCG) has invested in $30 million in Chevalier International Holdings, aiding its acquisition of Australia's Moraitis, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler backed by Catalyst Investment Managers. AMCG provided the financing via...
China’s Fosun nears first close on $1b outbound fund
Fosun International is targeting $1 billion for its Chinese Momentum Fund that will invest in foreign companies seeking to expand in China, with a particular focus on Europe. The fund is approaching a first close in excess of $300 million, AVCJ has been...
Chinese PE regulation: Tug-of-war
The National Development and Reform Commission and China Securities Regulatory Commission have yet to resolve their dispute over private equity oversight. Uncertainty isn't helpful to industry participants
NDRC private equity executive moves to CSRC
Liu Jianjun, a senor official at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) who oversaw the private equity division, has been handed a leading role within the China Securities Regulatory Commission's (CSRC) fund department. The move comes amid...
China GP differentiation: Plain vanilla no more
Independent funds have dominated Chinese private equity, but now princeling and affiliate funds have entered the market, offering their own competitive edge. GPs are realizing the merits of differentiation
Oceanic Iron gets backing from Sino-Canada resources fund
Canada's Oceanic Iron Ore has received non-brokered financing of $3 million from Sino-Canada Natural Resources Fund, which will be issued convertible debentures.
China value-add: Empty promises?
Pulled by a desire to buy and build or pushed by a need to address restricted exit options, PE firms in China are placing greater emphasis on operational value-add. LPs must decide who’s all talk and who is action
Internal tensions
Henpecked husband versus nagging wives - this was the description attached to the china GP-LP relationship in a recent paper. It makes one think of the times fund managers have remarked on getting phone calls from some of their, erm, keener fund-of-funds...
Q&A: CDH Investments' Shangzhi Wu
CDH Investments is one of China’s longest-standing private equity operators. Shangzhi Wu, chairman and managing partner of the firm, reflects on how the investment environment has evolved
Korea Teachers Pension Fund appoints new CIO
Korea Teachers Pension Fund (KTPF) has named Park Min Ho as its new CIO, replacing Yun Kyu Lee who is leaving the group. Park was previously head of investment strategy at KTPF.
KKR exits Australia's Seven West Media
KKR has exited its stake in Australia’s Seven West Media via the public market, raising around A$265 million ($260 million). The private equity firm invested in what was then Seven Media Group in 2006 at the height of the buyout boom, before merging...
Japan restructuring opportunities on the rise – PE survey
Japan is expected to emerge as a hotspot for restructuring over the next 12 months as domestic industries consolidate and foreign multinationals reassess their activities in a weak and demographically challenged consumer market. South Korea and Japan...
Sequoia leads $5m investment in Indian energy drink maker
Sequoia Capital, Catamaran Investment and FootPrint Ventures have put $8 million (INR 440 million) into Hector Beverages, owners of energy drink brand Tzinga.
Blackstone tables $660m take-private bid for China’s Pactera
The Blackstone Group has joined the flood of private equity firms targeting China take-privates, backing a management buyout of US-listed tech outsourcing firm Pactera Technology International. It takes the number of private equity-supported transactions...