Financials
Taiwan's Chinatrust buys Tokyo Star Bank – report
Chinatrust Commercial Bank, one of Taiwan’s largest commercial lenders, has reportedly agreed to buy Tokyo Star Bank for JPY52 billion ($519 million) from Lone Star and other creditors-turned-shareholders. It would be the first full buyout of a Japanese...
Everstone to invest $33m in Indian NBFC
Everstone Capital is to invest INR2 billion ($33.5 million) for a 15-20% stake in Hinduja Leyland Finance (HLF) a non-banking financial company (NBFC) owned by the Hinduja Group.
Baring ups stake in India's Manappuram Finance
Baring Private Equity Partners India has upped its stake in Manappuram Finance, a listed non-bank financial company (NBFC) specializing in gold loans, to 11.56% from an earlier 9.48% via open market purchases.
Fatfish acquires 65% of Indonesian auto insurance portal RajaPremi
Singapore-based tech investor Fatfish Internet has acquired Indonesian car insurance price comparison site RajaPremi.com, marking its first foray into the country. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Markit launches private equity valuations service
Financial information services company Markit has launched a service for investors to value their assets held by private equity funds. It comes in anticipation of Europe’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), which requires alternative...
Australia's Next Capital buys Scottish Pacific from Lazard
Next Capital completed the acquisition of Australian debt finance company Scottish Pacific from Lazard Australia Private Equity. The transaction value wasn’t disclosed but local media reports put it at around A$90 million ($82.6 million).
Piramal to buy 10% stake in TPG-backed Shriram Capital
Indian conglomerate Piramal will purchase a 10% stake in Shriram Capital, the holding company of Shriram Group's financial services business. TPG Capital owns an 11% stake in the company.
Temasek's portfolio expands to $169b with greater focus on energy
Temasek Holdings saw its portfolio grow to S$215 billion ($169 billion) for the year ended March 2013, up 8.6% from the preceding 12 months.
Credit China, jeweler Chow Tai Fook form RQFLP fund
Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook has teamed up with financial services provider Credit China and private equity firm VMS Investment to form a closed-end Renminbi Qualified Foreign Limited Partnership (RQFLP) fund. The vehicle, named Chongqing Run Ke Equity...
South Asian impact fundraising platform gets Series A round
Singapore’s Jungle Ventures has led a $1.1 million round of funding for Milaap Social Ventures, an impact-focused fundraising platform in South Asia. Lion Rock Capital and two angel investors also participated, as did existing investor Unitus Seed Fund....
Ironbridge targets full buyout of Australia's Bravura
Ironbridge Capital has made an offer to acquire a further one-third stake in listed Australian life insurance and wealth management provider Bravura Solutions. The offer values the company at A$172.7 million ($158.3 million).
Vogo-backed Tongyang Life chosen as preferred bidder ING Korea unit – report
A consortium led by Tongyang Life Insurance, which is majority-owned by Vogo Investment, has reportedly been chosen as the preferred bidder for ING Groep’s South Korean life insurance unit. The consortium is said to have offered around KRW2 trillion ($1.7...
Gray Matters invests in social banker Unitus Capital
Bangalore-based social investment bank Unitus Capital (UC) has received an undisclosed commitment from Gray Matters Capital (GMC)-owned First Light Ventures fund. The vehicle acts as an incubator and investment partner to seed-stage, for-profit social...
PE-backed NBFC Magma to apply for India banking license
Non-bank financing company (NBFC) Magma Fincorp, which has several private equity investors, will apply to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a new banking license. IDFC, Religare Enterprises, Reliance Capital and the Aditya Birla Group also plan to...
Korean government tries again to offload Woori stake
The South Korean government will once again try to offload its majority stake in Woori Finance Holdings, this time breaking up the asset into three pieces to be auctioned separately. The plan is to sell two regional banks and a brokerage and related units...
PEP-owned American Stock Transfer refinances debt – report
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) is said to have tapped the US markets to refinance $480 million in debt held by portfolio company American Stock Transfer (AST). This is the third time in less than two months that firms owned by the Australian GP have completed...
AVCJ China Awards: Exit of the Year – China Pacific Insurance
“The transaction, the largest private equity investment in China to date, is a testimony to the maturing investment and regulatory environment in China and to the government’s commitment to financial reform,” X.D. Yang, managing director and co-head of...
Mandarin Capital-backed Chinese credit rating JV to operate in Europe
Dagong Europe Credit Rating, a joint venture between Beijing-based Dagong Global Credit Rating and Mandarin Capital Partners, has won approval from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to operate in Europe. It will become the first Chinese...
DBS buys more time for Bank Danamon control deal
DBS Group has extended the deadline for it to secure majority control of Indonesia’s Bank Danamon by two months to August 1. The bank wants to acquire the 67.4% stake in Danamon owned by Temasek Holdings – also DBS’ controlling shareholder – with a view...
Cerberus raises Seibu stake, falls short of target
Cerberus Capital Management has raised its stake in Japan's Seibu Holdings to 35.48%, giving it enough control to block resolutions by management. However, the New York-headquartered firm fell short of its goal of buying 44.7% of the Japanese rail and...
IFC ups stake in Mongolia's TenGer Financial Group
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, has increased its stake in Mongolia's TenGer Financial Group (TFG) to 19% for an undisclosed amount.
Goldman exits ICBC as banks face squeeze
Goldman Sachs has toppled The Carlyle Group at the top of China’s exit rankings, with $9.85 billion in proceeds generated from its investment in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) against an initial commitment of $2.58 billion.
Indonesia financial services: Too hot to handle
For all the foreign strategic interest in Indonesia’s financial services sector, most deals are thwarted due to a huge gap in price expectations. PE investors are steering clear of the mainstream and looking for niche value
China's Kaida VC invests in VTL Associates
China’s Suzhou Industrial Park Kaida Venture Capital has invested in VTL Associates, a Philadelphia-based financial consulting firm that develops equity and fixed income indexes.