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Japan digitization: Easy targets, hard to hit
Japan’s massive mid-sized business sector is still trading in its fax machines for the cloud, sometimes willingly, sometimes begrudgingly. PE’s help is most needed in terms of mindset
Lightspeed joins $125m round for India virtual events platform
Lightspeed Venture Partners has joined a $125 million Series B round for India-based virtual events platform Hubilo.
Temasek leads $550m round for US cybersecurity player Orca
Singapore’s Temasek Holdings has led a $550 million Series C round for US cybersecurity provider Orca Security that will support an Asia expansion.
India's Meesho sees valuation double in five months
Indian social e-commerce start-up Meesho has raised a $570 million Series F round, doubling its valuation in less than five months to $4.9 billion.
Lee Fixel's Addition backs India-based Delhivery
Addition, a private equity firm established by Lee Fixel, who was previously involved in many of Tiger Global Management’s early India deals, has invested $125 million in local e-commerce logistics provider Delhivery.
Singapore's Ninja Van raises $578m Series E
Singapore-based last-mile delivery start-up Ninja Van has raised a $578 million Series E round featuring Alibaba Group.
Australia's Liverpool Partners acquires coffee brand
Australian private equity firm Liverpool Partners has acquired a majority stake in Seven Miles Coffee Roasters, a branded coffee supplier to the local cafe segment.
India's Freshworks flourishes on NASDAQ debut
Freshworks, one of India's leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses, traded strongly on its NASDAQ debut following a $1 billion IPO.
Deal focus: Vision Fund bets on service robots
COVID-19 crippled demand for restaurant service robots, so China’s Keenon Robotics pivoted towards hospitals. It has $200 million in Series D funding to target new application scenarios
Indonesia payments player Xendit raises $150m Series C
Indonesian digital payments infrastructure provider Xendit has raised a $150 million Series C round led by Tiger Global Management at a valuation of around $1 billion.
India's FreshWorks targets $912m US IPO
Freshworks, which earlier this year lost its status as India’s most valuable software-as-a-service (SaaS) start-up, is looking to raise up to $912 million through a US IPO.
Australia's SiteMinder secures $73m pre-IPO round
Australia-based hotel booking platform SiteMinder has raised a A$100 million ($73 million) pre-IPO round led by BlackRock and AustralianSuper.
India blue-collar HR start-up gets $24m
Indian blue-collar workforce management platform BetterPlace has raised a $24 million Series C round led by CX Partners and Jungle Ventures.
EQT extends Australia IT rollup play
EQT-owned Nexon Asia Pacific, an Australia-based IT services provider, has acquired local counterpart Veridian Solutions for an undisclosed sum. This is its third bolt-on in as many months.
Deal focus: ShopUp champions the iron triangle
As a first mover in Bangladesh’s B2B e-commerce space, ShopUp moved quickly into services, logistics, and finance. This inadvertent super app now has $75 million in Series B funding to show for its efforts
Bangladesh’s ShopUp raises $75m Series B
Valar Ventures, a firm set up by PayPal co-founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel, has led a $75 million Series B round for Bangladeshi B2B platform ShopUp.
Deal focus: Affinity capitalizes on enforced divestment
Delivery Hero was instructed to offload Yogiyo as a condition of buying Woowa Brothers. Affinity, Permira, and GS Retail made the most of a $685 million opportunity to enter Korea’s food delivery space
VIG makes partial exit from Korea funeral services business
Korea’s VIG Partners has sold a 10% stake in funeral services provider Preed Life to Mastern Partners, a local PE platform, for KRW50 billion ($43.2 million).
WestBridge leads Series B for India voice AI start-up
WestBridge Capital has led a $23 million Series B round for India’s Skit, a voice recognition artificial intelligence (AI) supplier for the call center industry.
India's Delhivery buys PE-owned Spoton Logistics
Indian e-commerce logistics Delhivery has acquired Spoton Logistics, a private equity-owned express logistics and supply chain business, with a view to strengthening its B2B capabilities.
Tribe, Moore Strategic lead Series C for India's Khatabook
Tribe Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures have led a $100 million Series C round for Khatabook – an India-based bookkeeping app aimed at small merchants – at a valuation of $600 million.
ChrysCapital, True North join $150m Quest Global deal
ChrysCapital and True North Managers have participated in a $150 million investment for a minority stake in Quest Global, an Indian engineering services outsourcing company.
Jafco leads $13m Series A for Taiwan cybersecurity player
Jafco Asia, a Singapore-based unit of Japanese VC firm Jafco, has led a $12.9 million Series A round for Taiwanese industrial cybersecurity provider TXOne Networks.
Baring buys enterprise tech player Straive from Partners Group
Baring Private Equity Asia is poised to add to its enterprise technology portfolio with the acquisition of Straive – a Philippines-based outsourcing business previously known as SPi Global – from Partners Group.
