Financials
Crescent-owned insurer shares down 12.5% after Australian IPO
Shares in Crescent Capital Partners-owned Cover-More Group opened down 12.5% today following the travel insurer's A$521 million ($460 million) IPO on Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
Darby exits South Korea's Leadcorp
Darby Private Equity, a subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments, has exited its stake in South Korean consumer finance company Leadcorp through sales on the Kosdaq Market of Korean Exchange. The financial details were not disclosed.
KKR, Carlyle, GSO among potential bidders for JPMorgan Asia investment arm - report
KKR, The Carlyle Group and Blackstone's credit arm, GSO Capital Partners are said to be among potential buyers for JPMorgan Chase's Asia-based principal investment business, Global Special Opportunities Group (GSOG). The valuation is likely to be more...
Japan's Sompo mulls $1b purchase of Bregal-owned insurer Canopius
Sompo Japan Insurance is looking to acquire Canopius Group, a UK insurer which is 84%-owned by London-headquartered private equity firm Bregal Capital.
China Cinda gains 26% on Hong Kong trading debut
China Cinda Asset Management saw its stock close up 26% on the IPO price for the biggest debut gain among large cap companies in Asia in more than two years.
Moody's acquires Helion-backed Amba Investment Services
Moody’s subsidiary Copal Partners has acquired Helion Ventures-backed Amba Research for an undisclosed sum.
IDG leads Series A for China online finance site Tongbanjie
Tongbanjie, a Chinese online finance mobile app, has receive more than $10 million in a Series A round of funding led by IDG Capital Partners.
Sequoia-backed Citrus Payment raises $5.5m in Series B funding
Citrus Payment Solutions has raised a $5.5 million Series B round from Japanese investors econtext Asia, an online payments company, and Beenos. Existing investor Sequoia Capital also participated in the round.
PE-backed China Cinda prices HK IPO at top of range - report
China Cinda Asset Management, a company originally set up to absorb non-performing loans (NPLs) from China’s Big Four state-owned banks, has priced its IPO at the top end of the indicative range and is on course to raise $2.5 billion. It will be Asia’s...
Crescent-owned travel insurer to raise $475m in Australia IPO
Crescent Capital Partners-owned travel insurer Cover-More Group is targeting a A$521.2 million ($475 million) IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange.
MBK consortium bids for Woori NPL unit - report
MBK Partners is said to have teamed up with BS Financial Group to place a final bid for Woori Finance Holdings’ non-performing loans business. This is the second part of a three-phase auction intended to finally dispose of the Korean government’s interest...
Singapore's Coda Payments gets Series A round
Carrier billing provider Coda Payments has raised $2.3 million in Series A funding from GMO Global Payment Fund, Rakuten Ventures, CyberAgent Ventures, and return backers Golden Gate Ventures and Skype co-founder Toivo Annus.
ICICI Venture invests $22.4m in BTI Payments
ICICI Venture has committed INR1.4 billion ($22.4 million) to BTI Payments for a significant stake in the ATM and point-of-sales (POS) services contractor.
Blackbird leads round for Australian bitcoin start-up
Blackbird Ventures has invested A$250,000 ($227,645) to lead a A$500,000 round of funding for Melbourne-based CoinJar, a bitcoin wallet and exchange provider. Angel investors in the round include RetailMeNot founders Guy King and Bevan Clark and game...
Hitachi acquires Sequoia-backed Prizm
Hitachi will acquire all issued equity of India’s Prizm Payment Services from Sequoia Capital, Axis Bank and other shareholders. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Norway fund, Oaktree among anchors for China Cinda IPO
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and Oaktree Capital Management are two of 10 cornerstone investors that will cover up to 44% of China Cinda Asset Management Corp’s IPO. The company, originally set up to absorb non-performing loans (NPLs) from China’s Big...
PE-backed China Cinda to raise $2.5b in Hong Kong IPO - report
PE-backed China Cinda Asset Management Corp, one of four groups set up to absorb non-performing loans (NPLs) from the country’s Big Four state-owned banks, is expected to raise up to $2.5 billion in its Hong Kong IPO.
Bitcoin boom
“It is in some ways easier to buy things in China using bitcoin than it is using traditional fiat currency,” says Dan Ciporin, partner at the VC firm Canaan Partners.
Bitcoin exchange BTC China Raises $5m from Lightspeed
China’s largest bitcoin exchange by trading volume, BTC China, has raised $5 million in Series A funding from Lightspeed China Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
SoftBank China invests in P2P lending site Yooli.com
Chinese peer-to-peer financing platform Yooli.com has received $10 million in Series A funding from Softbank China Capital. The platform launched in February but already has nearly 100,000 registered users and has transacted more than RMB264 million ($43...
Singapore's itBit raises capital for Bitcoin exchange
Canaan Partners and RRE Ventures have co-led a $3.25 million round of funding for Singapore-headquartered Bitcoin exchange itBit. Liberty City Ventures, as well angel investors such as The Jordan Company’s Jay W. Jordan II and Beluga co-founder Ben Davenport...
IDFC Alternatives buys stake in India commodities exchange
IDFC Alternatives has acquired a 5% stake in National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), India’s largest agricultural commodity derivatives exchange, from Jaypee Financial Services for INR456 million ($7.3 million).
Taiwan's Chinatrust to buy Tokyo Star Bank for $530m
CTBC Financial, the parent company of Taiwan's Chinatrust Commercial Bank, is to buy a 98.16% stake in Tokyo Star Bank for JPY52 billion ($530 million) from US private equity firm Lone Star and other creditors-turned-shareholders. It will be the first...
Bamboo Finance sees 2x return on Mongolia XacBank exit
Emerging markets-focused private equity firm Bamboo Finance has exited its stake in TenGer Financial Group (TFG), the holding company of Mongolia's XacBank, to Japan's Orix Corp. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, but it is said...