South Asia
Bamboo Finance backs Greenlight Planet in $4m round
Bamboo Finance has invested in Greenlight Planet, a manufacturer of solar-powered lanterns, in a $4 million funding round alongside existing investor P.K. Sinha, co-founder of ZS Associates.
India's NSE considers stock exchange listing
General Atlantic-backed National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) is considering a listing on the public markets, but first need to consider the impact of upcoming rules.
Baring PE India promotes two to partner level
Baring Private Equity Partners India has promoted Amit Chander and Keshav Misra to partner level.
PE-backed Coffee Day plans $78m India expansion
Coffee Day Group, a diversified Indian business backed by Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE), KKR and New Silk Route, plans to spend INR4 billion ($77.9 million) on expanding its operations this year. The firm has indicated it might then look at...
Unitus Seed Fund backs Indian rural distribution start-up
Unitus Seed Fund, a US-based VC firm that targets social start-ups, has invested in Chennai-based Villgro Innovation Marketing (VIM) in a seed series of funding alongside a group of angel investors.
Mount Kellett raises $4b for second special situations fund
Mount Kellett Capital Management, the private equity firm started by former Goldman Sachs executive Mark McGoldrick, has closed its second fund at $4 billion. The vehicle, which targets special situation and opportunistic investments, is $1 billion larger...
Carlyle, Sequoia in talks to invest up to $50m in JSM - report
The Carlyle Group and Sequoia Capital are in separate talks to invest $40-50 million in JSM Corp, which operates the Indian franchises of Hard Rock Café and California Pizza Kitchen.
IFC lends $6.5m to Indian food logistics company
International Finance Corp. (IFC), the World Bank's investment arm, will lend $6.5 million to food supply chain Snowman Logistics, in a move to foster efficiency and organization in India’s logistics sector.
Manipal Hospitals to raise $29m from private equity
Manipal Hospitals, India’s third largest healthcare group, is seeking as much as INR1.5 billion ($29 million) from private equity firms for a minority stake in order to fund expansion.
India's IHG buys UK food producer from Duke Street
India Hospitality Group (IHC) has acquired UK-based ready-made food producer Adelie Food Holding from Duke Street Capital for $350 million. The deal – the largest overseas acquisition by an India-focused food and beverage company in six years – is said...
Frontline Strategy backs India railways supplier
Frontline Strategy’s India Industrial Growth Fund (IIGF) has committed $9 million to DTL Ancillaries, a Pune-based company that manufactures components used in the rail and automotive industries. The investment is structured in two tranches, the first...
India Value Fund recruits former Network18 chief
India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA) has appointed Haresh Chawla as a partner. Chawla, who stepped down as CEO of media company Network18 earlier this year, will take responsibility for investments in the media and entertainment space. He will also work with...
GIC, Baring invest $97m in India's Marico
Government of Singapore Investment Corp. (GIC) and Baring India Private Equity will purchase a 4.8% stake in Marico, the leading Indian manufacturer of personal care products, for INR5 billion ($97.7 million). The proceeds will partly be used to finance...
TA Associates backs Indian online payment provider
TA Associates has acquired a minority stake in BillDesk, India’s leading online payment services provider. The investment, terms of which were not disclosed, is seen as a means of leveraging both increasing internet penetration in the country and growing...
Second-largest India exit for Warburg Pincus
"When Warburg Pincus first invested in Kotak Mahindra Bank in 2004, what was being created was a banking institution from scratch,” says Vishal Mahadevia, managing director of Warburg Pincus India.
Foreigners secure entry to India's secondaries market
Indian regulators have opened the door for foreign PE investors seeking to buy secondary stakes in domestic companies. Is this the jumpstart India’s secondary market needs?
Direct investment: Silent partners?
Limited partners are attracted by the low costs and potentially high returns of direct investment opportunities in Asia. Those with a finger on the market’s pulse are likely to prevail, provided they don’t get too greedy
The listening regulator
To ask an Indian private equity professional what he thinks of domestic regulators is to invite a torrent of feedback, most of it critical. “They don’t understand the industry… They don’t listen to what we have to say… They are incompetent…” Indeed, the...
India PE fund invests in bookadda.com
T.V. Mohandas Pai, the former Infosys director, and his partner Ranjan Pai have invested in Indian online book retailer bookadda.com through their $100 million private equity fund.
Advent International to invest $105m CARE Hospitals
Advent International will invest $105 million in multi-specialty hospital chain CARE Hospitals, representing its third investment in India.
ASK boosts Godrej redevelopment project with $20m
ASK Property Investment Advisors has injected INR1 billion ($19.8 million) into Godrej Properties’ (GPL) first redevelopment project. This comes five months after it was announced that Godrej was looking to exit up to 49% of a commercial realty project...
Indian regulator finalizes PE oversight measures
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has released a final version of regulations intended to tighten its control over the private equity industry. The new rules governing alternative investment funds (AIFs) replace the venture capital funds...
India Agri Business Fund backs Super Agri Seeds
Rabo Equity Advisors’ India Agri Business Fund has committed INR500 million ($9.8 million) to Super Agri Seeds for a significant minority stake. It is the fund’s eighth investment and the first in a seeds company.
PE firms wary of India's proposed tax law changes
Foreign private equity investors remain concerned about perceived ambiguities in India’s proposed anti-avoidance legislation, which impacts the tax treatment of offshore structures used to channel capital into the country. The legislation forms part of...