Sectors
PE firms remain in the hunt for Kyobo Life
The sale of a one third interest in Kyobo Life, the smallest of South Korea’s Big Three life insurers, was always going to be a two-phase affair. The first phase – Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) exiting its 9.9% stake in the company – is now...
VCs park their cash in Indian taxi firms
Venture investment in Indian taxi companies is no new phenomenon, but the profile of the firms which are commanding capital appears to be changing
Private investors back IPO of Khazanah’s healthcare arm
Blackrock, Capital Group and Och-Ziff Capital Management Group have agreed to become cornerstone investors in the proposed $2 billion IPO of Malaysia's Integrated Healthcare Holdings (IHH), which is owned by Khazanah Nasional.
India’s Komli raises $39m from VCs in Series D round
Norwest Venture Partners has led a $39 million round of funding for Komli Media, India’s largest advertising-focused media technology company. Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson also participated,...
Qantas appoints Macquarie to defend against PE bids
Qantas Airways has hired Macquarie Group to set up an internal team “to advise on the defense against potential private equity bids,” a company spokesman has confirmed. The news prompted an 11% spike in the airline’s share price to A$1.08 during...
Apax, Bain in race for $1.4b Genpact stake
Apax Partners and Bain Capital are reportedly competing for the 41% stake in Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) company Genpact being sold by Oak Hill Capital and General Atlantic (GA). The stake is valued at $1.4 billion, which could make this...
Sage Capital vehicle backs Chinese shoemaker Baofeng
Asia Equity Value, an investment vehicle advised by Sage Capital Global, has agreed to invest in Baofeng Modern International, a Hong Kong-listed Chinese footwear manufacturer.
Sequoia invests in India’s Citrus Payments
Sequoia Capital has invested an undisclosed amount in Mumbai-based Citrus Payment Solutions, which offers payment services including online banking and credit card gateways.
PubMatic raises $45m in mezzanine financing from VC players
India-based GPs Helion Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners have participated in a $45 million round of mezzanine financing for their portfolio company PubMatic. The round was led by US-based August Capital, with Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Silicon Valley...
Samara injects $32m in Monte Carlo Fashions
US-based private equity firm Samara Capital has invested INR1.75 billion ($32 million) for an 18% stake in India’s Monte Carlo Fashions.
Sequoia to reap 18% return on Cafe Coffee Day sale
Sequoia Capital India is targeting returns of 16-18% on its impending exit from Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading, a unit of India’s Coffee Day Group.
Chinese online store Meilele receives $40m in second round funding
Chinese home furnishings e-tailer Meilele has received $40 million in second-round funding. The round was led by Singapore’s Vertex Venture, alongside Lightspeed Partners, Xianfeng Huaxing Group, LionRock Capital, and KTB Ventures.
Chinese accessory chain Aiyaya obtains $16m from Fortune Capital
Chinese accessory chain Aiyaya has received RMB100 million ($16 million) from Fortune Venture Capital in what could be the largest investment in the domestic accessory industry.
SBI, FMO launch $80m financial services fund
Japan's SBI Holdings and Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) have jointly rolled out a new fund that will invest in financial services across emerging Asia. The SBI-FMO Emerging Asian Financial Services Fund is targeting up to $80 million in...
Nanostart ups stake in MINT
Nanostart Asia Pacific has increased its stake in Singaporean cleantech firm Membrane Instruments and Technologies (MINT) from 18% to 28%.
Blackstone gets co-investment rights in HK hedge fund
Private equity giant Blackstone Group has upped its exposure to Asia-focused hedge fund Senrigan Capital. By injecting a further $50 million into the vehicle, it will be able to co-invest with Senrigan on a number of projects.
Intel bets on Vietnam’s information highway
Imagine initialing every page of a 1,200-page equity agreement. Sudheer Kuppam, managing director of Intel Capital APAC, did exactly that over the last few months, for the paperwork for a transaction with Vietnam Communication Corp (VC Corp), a leading...
Ontario Teachers win Kyobo Life stake - update
Canada's Ontario Teachers Pension Plan has become the preferred bidder for a stake in Kyobo Life Insurance edging out other interested party, Affinity Equity Partners. Contrary to earlier media reports, the pension fund did not team up with existing shareholder...
Morgan Stanley in talks to buy Lanco's road assets
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, a $4-billion global infrastructure fund, is in early discussions with Lanco Infratech to buy its 401km of highway projects.
AMP Capital makes clean energy investment in India
The AMP Capital Asian Giants Infrastructure Fund (AGIF) has bought a minority stake in Indian clean energy company Shalivahana Green Energy (SGEL) for almost $29 million.
PE-backed Chinese phone maker Xiaomi to get new funding
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Technology is nearing the closing of a fundraising round that will value the company at $4 billion. The news comes after IDG Capital, Temasek Holdings and Qualcomm reportedly participated in a $90 million B-round of funding...
Tiger Global and SAIF boost Zovi with $10m
Venture capital firms Tiger Global and SAIF Partners have invested $10 million as part of a Series B round of funding for Indian online private label retailer Zovi.com.
Carlyle, Apollo miss out as Brambles cancels $2b asset sale
ASX-listed Brambles has announced that it has canceled it plans to raise cash by selling Recall, its information management business. The 10-month process was called to a halt because of low offers from potential buyers, which included a number of private...
Hawkesbridge backs Colemans
Australian private equity firm Hawkesbridge has acquired a stake in Australian fencing infrastructure firm the Colemans Group.