Sectors
Femto invests $1m in Japanese restaurant app startup
Japanese venture capital firm Femto has committed JPY100 million ($1 million) of seed funding in Toreta, a start-up developing apps for the food service industry.
Revolution Growth invests $40m in Australia's Bigcommerce
US venture capital firm Revolution Growth has invested $40 million in Australian tech start-up Bigcommerce. The company sells e-commerce software for online retailers covering website design, store management, marketing and electronic payments.
Standard Chartered boosts stake as India’s Fortis moves to cut debt
Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) will invest a further $13.5 million in hospital chain Fortis Healthcare through a preferential allotment of shares, taking its total holding to around 2.7%.
EQT mulls deal for Dairy Queen, Papa John’s China franchisee – report
EQT Partners intends to buy a minority stake in RCS Group, a Chinese fast-food chain operator that owns franchisee rights for the Dairy Queen and Papa John’s Pizza, from existing investor Warburg Pincus.
Accel leads $6m investment in India B2B group buy platform
Accel Partners and return backers Kalaari Capital and Inventus Capital have put $6 million into group buying website Power2SME, in a Series B round for the company.
GCS Capital, Dexia deal in doubt as deadline missed
GCS Capital's proposed EUR380 million ($502 million) purchase of the Dexia's asset management arm has been thrown in to doubt after the Franco-Belgian bank ceased talks on the deal yesterday.
DCM, Infinity invest $2.7m in Japanese accounting software firm
DCM and Infinity Capital Partners have invested $2.7 million in Japanese online accounting software company, Freee, as part of a Series A round of funding.
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...
Actis to buy India lighting business from Halonix
Actis is set to buy the loss-making general lighting division of its portfolio company Halonix, a manufacturer of compact fluorescent lamps for general lighting and halogen lamps for automotives.
Arisaig invests $30m for stake in India McDonald’s franchisee
Arisaig Partners has bought a 3.47% stake in Mumbai-listed Westlife Development for INR1.8 billion ($30 million). Westlife controls McDonald’s restaurants in west and south India through its direct subsidiary, Hardcastle Restaurants. It is one of two...
Legend Capital joins funding round for heart valve implant maker
Legend Capital has participated in a $62.5 million Series C round of funding for Munich-based JenaValve Technology, a manufacturer of valve systems used to treat heart conditions. The company intends to apply to market products in China.
East Ventures backs Japanese flea market app Mercari
East Ventures has invested JPY50 million ($500,000) in Mercari, a Japanese flea market app launched by former Zynga Japan General Manager Shintaro Yamada.
Kartrocket gets seed funding from 5ideas Startup Superfuel, 500 Startups
Indian e-commerce platform Kartrocket has raised a seed round of funding from 5ideas Startup Superfuel and 500 Startups.
Strategics buy Singapore start-ups Techsailor, YFind
Two Singapore-based start-ups – Techsailor and YFind – have been snapped up by strategic investors. This follows last week’s acquisition of VC-backed travel website TravelMob by NASDAQ-listed vacation rental portal HomeAway.
Bright Stone targets $4.8b for China tourism fund
China Bright Stone Investment has partnered with the Guizhou provincial government to launch the country's first tourism-focused fund, targeting up to RMB30 billion ($4.8 billion). The vehicle – Wuling Mountains travel industry investment fund - will...
Affinity pays $239m for majority stake in Korean music platform
Affinity Equity Partners will pay KRW265.9 billion ($239 million) for a 52.6% stake in Loen Entertainment, a South Korean record label and digital music platform. The holding is being divested by SK Planet, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, the country's largest...
China’s SAIF invests in COFCO-run food retail site
SAIF Partners has invested in Womai.com, a food and grocery B2C online platform set up by Chinese food conglomerate COFCO. Financial terms were not disclosed but the investment is said to be more than $10 million.
Jungle Ventures secures TravelMob exit
Four years ago, Asia Pacific became the world’s largest aviation market, with 647 million travelers taking flights within the region compared to 638 million in North America. This growth shows no sign of slowing down – in the first four months of...
L Capital targets Chinese beauty
As growth slows in China's consumer sector, L Capital Asia has identified cosmetics as a segment with the qualities to withstand the broader trend. Put simply, as a woman’s disposable incomes rise, so does her consumption of premium cosmetics, particularly...
Caffeinated returns: Private equity's coffee shop craving
Private equity is already leveraging the growing popularity of coffee shops across Asia. But where is the next frontier – and is it all about the coffee?
Singapore’s Temasek appoints new chairman
Temasek Holdings has appointed Lim Boon Heng as its fourth chairman, succeeding Suppiah Dhanabalan who is retiring after leading the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund for 17 years.
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.
Providence ups stake in India's Hathway Cable & Datacom
Providence Equity Partners has increased its stake in Indian cable and broadband operator Hathway Cable & Datacom by injecting INR1.5 billion ($25.1 million) alongside the promoter.
Artesian Ventures, University of Queensland to launch start-up fund
Artesian Capital Management, an alternative investment arm spun out of ANZ Banking Group, has partnered with University of Queensland to create a A$1.5 million ($1.4 million) Accelerate Investment Fund. The vehicle will invest in graduates from the university’s...