Sectors
General Mobile gets $5m from Singtel Innov8, Mitsui
SingTel Innov8 and Japan’s Mitsui & Co. have led a $5 million round of funding for General Mobile, a company that provides mobile internet services to customers in emerging markets. Existing investors in General Mobile include Taiwan-based MediaTek,...
CVC buys into C.Banner’s organic growth story
Over the course of 17 years, C.Banner Holdings has become China’s third-largest ladies footwear retailer, building up a network of more than 1,800 outlets and four self-developed brands. Growth has been entirely organic: Chinese retailers habitually...
Hopu sees slim return on Mengniu investment
Four years on from the tainted milk scandal that cost the lives of six infants and hospitalized hundreds more, the memories still loom large over the dairy industry.
Indian deal values increase in first quarter - PwC
The value of private equity deals in India jumped 57% during the first three months of this year compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a new report. The number of deals decreased 24% over the same period, however.
India embraces e-payment
With established market leaders in India’s mainstream e-payment space, VCs are targeting opportunities in the unbanked and mobile payment markets
Indian microfinance: Back from the brink
The dust is finally starting to settle on the suicide scandals that rocked Indian microfinance in late 2010. Is the industry still an attractive proposition for private equity?
MineralTree in $6.3m round led by Fidelity India
Fidelity Growth Partners India has led a $6.3 financing round for Boston-based MineralTree, which provides cloud-based secure payments services for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Existing investor .406 Ventures also participated.
Morgan Stanley invests $210m in Continuum Wind Energy
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners has agreed to buy a majority stake in Continuum Wind Energy for INR12 billion ($210 million). The Singapore-based company, which was set up Essar Group executive Vikas Saraf and investment banker Arvind Bansal, runs...
Billabong poised for takeover as share price tumbles
Australian surfwear retailer Billabong International saw its stock slump 36% when it resumed trading on Monday following a heavily discounted $225 million rights issue. The company is now worth less than one third of the value of TPG Capital’s A$841...
Baring increases its stake in Manappuram Finance to 5.94%
Baring India Private Equity has increased its stake in Manappuram Finance, a non-bank financial company (NBFC) specializing in loans based on gold.
Bain buys half of Japanese TV shopping channel for $1.3b
Bain Capital will buy a 50% stake in Jupiter Shop Channel (JSC), a television shopping company, from Japan-based Sumitomo Corporation. Industry sources noted that the deal is worth JPY100 billion ($1.3 billion), which might be Japan's largest private...
Robin Bell-Jones to lead Permira’s TMT coverage in Asia
Permira has redeployed Robin Bell-Jones from London to Hong Kong as part of efforts to expand the firm’s investment activities across Asia.
ICICI Venture in second attempt to offload Updater Services
Indian investor ICICI Venture is attempting to exit its stake in Indian facilities management company Updater Services for the second time.
Milestone backs China restaurant chain IPO
Milestone Capital Partners has agreed to become a cornerstone investor in Chinese restaurant chain Xiao Nan Guo’s Hong Kong IPO. The company is looking to sell 341.25 million shares at HK$1.50 to raise HK$511.5 million ($65.9 million). A Milestone subsidiary...
Carlyle seeks $1.9b Coates Hire refinancing
The Carlyle Group is in negotiations with banks to refinance the A$1.9 billion ($1.9 billion) in leverage used to purchase Australian equipment hire company Coates Hire.
MBK named preferred bidder for Korea’s Hi-Mart
MBK Partners has been chosen as the preferred bidder for South Korean electronics retailer Hi-Mart. The company said in a statement to the Korean Stock Exchange that its largest shareholder, Eugene Corp, had made the decision.
KKR puts Bis Industries on the block
KKR has put its mining services and logistics business Bis Industries on the block. The Australian company has been valued at around $1.8 billion including debt.
Singtel Innov8, Optus launch Australia start-ups program
SingTel Innov8, the venture capital arm of SingTel, has teamed up with Australian telco Optus to start a seed program to help Australian digital startups grow and expand into Asia.
Court allows Oak, Gobi to attach $60m in VisionChina assets
Oak Investment Partners and Gobi Partners' application to attach $60 million in assets they claim they are owed by VisionChina Media approved by a New York state judge.
Asiasons buys Australian pre-school show from CVC's Nine
Southeast Asian private equity firm Asiasons Group has acquired Australian pre-school television show Hi-5 from Nine Network Australia and Southern Star Entertainment. Nine Network is owned by the debt-laden Nine Entertainment Group, which is backed by...
MGPA acquires multi-office portfolio in Japan
MGPA, a private equity real estate investment advisory firm, has acquired eight office properties in Japan, with all but one located in Tokyo. The investment was channeled through MGPA Asia Fund III and took the form of commercial mortgage-backed securities.
Singapore start-up raises $1.2m from Walden, Innosight
Singapore-based YFind Technologies has raised S$1.5 million ($1.2 million) in a Series A funding round led by Walden International and Innosight Ventures. The indoor GPS start-up will use the funding to accelerate its development of applications including...
AVCJ China Awards: VC Deal of the Year – Dianping.com
As China’s leading restaurant reviews website, Dianping.com has developed a business model that is difficult for others to replicate. VC backers TrustBridge, Lightspeed, Sequoia and Qiming don’t expect this to change
AVCJ China Awards: PE Deal of the Year – Alibaba Group
Silver Lake started building relations with Alibaba Group almost as soon as it launched its Asia operations in 2008. It was the logical thing to do: the private equity firm assiduously builds relationships with senior management at most of the world’s...