Sectors
Alibaba will not pursue Hong Kong listing
Alibaba Group has decided not to pursue a Hong Kong IPO after efforts to persuade the exchange to accommodate a shareholding structure that allows management to retain control of the business met with a lukewarm response. It is unclear where the listing...
Indian regulator revives REITs plan
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued draft guidelines to set up real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the country, which could help provide liquidity to existing investors and attract more foreign capital.
CIC agrees $1.3b debt-for-equity swap with Bumi Resources
China Investment Corporation (CIC) has agreed a debt-for-equity swap worth $1.3 billion with embattled Indonesian miner Bumi Resources.
IDG, Inventus lead $2m Series A for India's Unbxd
IDG Venture India and Inventus Capital Partners have led a $2 million Series A round of investment in Unbxd, a product recommendation platform for e-commerce companies.
Fosun invests in Hong Kong-listed Goldpoly New Energy
Fosun Group has invested in Goldpoly New Energy Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed Chinese solar power station operator, by subscribing to a $50 million convertible bonds offering. China Orient Asset Management and US-based asset management firm York Capital...
India's Flipkart raises additional $160m
Online retailer Flipkart has raised an additional $160 million in Series E funding from new investors Sofina, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Dragoneer Investment Group and Vulcan Capital, along with participation from existing investor Tiger Global.It...
KKR invests $200m in Malaysia’s Weststar Aviation
KKR has completed its first investment in Malaysia, paying approximately MYR642 million ($200 million) for a substantial minority stake in Weststar Aviation Services (WAS). It is also the first investment from KKR Asian Fund II, a $6 billion vehicle that...
Singapore's DCP leads $20m Series B for Amaranth Medical
DCP Management has led the $20 million Series B round of funding for Amaranth Medical, a medical device manufacturer. Existing investors Bio*One Capital, Charter Life Sciences and Phillip Capital, as well as new entrant Venstar Capital, also participated.
Apax buys VC-backed IT developer GlobalLogic
Apax Partners is to acquire a majority stake in outsourced software product developer GlobalLogic (GL) in an all secondary deal. It has agreed to buyout existing investors WestBridge Capital, New Atlantic Ventures (NAV), New Enterprise Associates (NEA),...
Goldman to raise up to $315m in Geely Auto sell down
Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area, an investment unit of Goldman Sachs, plans to sell-down its entire stake in Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile Holdings, raising up to HK$2.44 billion ($315 million).
China shopping search portal B5M raises $16m round
ClearVue Partners has led a $16 million Series B round of investment in Chinese shopping portal B5M.
Sierra Ventures leads Series C round for China's Social Touch
Chinese social marketing services provider Social Touch has raised $10 million in Series C funding from a group of investors led by Sierra Ventures. Legend Capital and GGV Capital, which backed the company in its previous two rounds, also participated.
VC-backed Eneres in $25m Japan IPO
Eneres, a venture capital-backed energy resources management firm, saw its stock more than double to JPY717 on its first day of trading in Tokyo yesterday following a JPY2.5 billion ($25 million) IPO.
Japan online fish seller raises $1.5m VC round
Hachimenroppi, a Japanese firm that operates an IT-enabled fresh fish distribution platform, has secured a JPY150 million ($1.5 million) round of investment from Pygmalion No 2, a venture fund managed by Tokyo-based firm Value Create. Two strategic investors...
Creador makes SE Asia e-payment breakthrough
Creador spent a couple of years looking for ways to enter Southeast Asia’s electronic payments space without much success. “We are a firm believer that there is a shift from cash to credit and debit solutions and e-commerce will push this to the next...
China retail: Asset-heavy to asset-light
Facing competition from e-commerce platforms, China’s traditional offline retailers are moving online – and the ideal combination is a combination of the two. PE investors are seeking opportunity in the disruption
Online tourism: Ticket to ride
Online tourism is on the rise in emerging Asia and numerous venture-backed businesses are looking to hitch a ride on the consumer growth trend. The key is finding the right niche
J-Star buys ‘fourth hand’ Primagest
Primagest, a firm whose primary business is using optical character recognition (OCR) to turn documents in data, appears every bit the tech-savvy up and comer. However, it has been doing the same thing – in one form or another – for 45 years.
Panasonic unit gets KKR cure
KKR's acquisition of Panasonic Healthcare marks a return to form for the firm after its earlier efforts to acquire Japanese chipmaker Renesas were frustrated by the government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ). The deal had raised...
India's Red Fort commits $162m to Lotus Greens residential projects
Real estate-focused Red Fort Capital is to invest INR10 billion ($162.7 million) in various residential projects being developed by Lotus Greens in the national capital region (NCR) around Delhi.
Singapore payment platform Fastacash receives Series A round
Fastacash, a Singapore-based social payments platform, has raised a $3 million in Series A round from Jungle Ventures, Spring Seeds Capital and Hong Kong-based Funding the Future (FTF).
Australia’s Ironbridge completes Bravura take-private
Ironbridge Capital has completed the take-private of Australia-based financial services administrator Bravura Solutions after minority shareholders approved a deal that values the company around A$173 million ($158 million).
Jungle Ventures backs mobile monetization platform Pokkt
Singapore-based Jungle Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount in Pokkt, a mobile platform that helps digital content developers and publishers monetize their user base through an advertiser-funded model. Angel investor Samir Bangara also participated...
Matrix Partners exits China Bona Film to Fosun
Matrix Partners China and other undisclosed pre-IPO shareholders have exited a 6.4% stake in Bona Film Group, a NASDAQ-listed film distributor in China, to Chinese conglomerate Fosun International for $20.8 million.