Technology
Altos, Mirae join $85m round for Korea sneaker trading platform
Kream, a Korea-based sneaker reselling business controlled by domestic internet giant Naver, has announced plans to raise KRW 170bn (USD 84m) from Altos Ventures, Mirae Asset, and its parent company.
China's Inspiration Capital closes Fund II on $82m
Inspiration Capital, a spinout from Qiming Venture Partners, has raised CNY 600m (USD 82m) for its second renminbi-denominated fund focused on cleantech and advanced manufacturing investments in China.
P&G establishes $24m India innovation fund
Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) India unit has established a INR 2bn (USD 24.1m) fund that will invest in technologies that help address challenges within its core business.
Australia VC player Blackbird closes $647m fund
Blackbird Ventures has raised AUD 1bn (USD 647m) for its latest fund, which will invest in “generational” technology companies in Australia and New Zealand. It is the largest ever VC fund raised by an Australia-based manager.
Sport investment: Into the value chain
Investors are increasingly drawn to the structural nuances, sticky customer bases, and long tail of ancillary opportunities that exist around professional sports. Asia’s role is small but growing
Q&A: China Creation Ventures' Wei Zhou
Wei Zhou, founder of China Creation Ventures (CCV), on why local GPs are targeting Southeast Asia, working with Chinese entrepreneurs overseas, and the prospects for renminbi and US dollar funds
Deal focus: Reap looks beyond Hong Kong
Having proved its business model and build up a customer base in Hong Kong, small business credit specialist Reap will use part of its USD 40m Series A round to pursue international expansion
China's Bright Capital raises $137m
China-based venture capital firm Bright Capital has raised CNY 1bn (USD 137m) across two funds - its third renminbi-denominated vehicle and its first US dollar fund.
Hong Kong payments player Reap gets $40m Series A
Hong Kong-based financial technology company Reap has raised a USD 40m Series A - comprising equity and debt - led by Acorn Pacific Ventures, Arcadia Funds, and HashKey Capital.
BGH, Sixth Street agree $933m buyout of New Zealand's PushPay
BGH Capital and Sixth Street Partners have agreed to acquire PushPay, a New Zealand and Australia-listed payments business specialising in donor management, for an enterprise value of NZD 1.54bn (USD 933m).
KKR buys Next Digital Engineering from Rohatyn
KKR has agreed to buy Ness Digital Engineering, a US-based provider of digital transformation services that has a significant back-end service delivery presence in India, for an undisclosed sum.
China IT maintenance player raises $27m
Chinese IT system operations and maintenance solutions provider Bizseer Technology has raised a Series C round of about CNY 200m (USD 27m) led by Firstred Capital.
Australia's Elmo Software agrees take-private with US GP
K1 Investment, a US-based private equity that focuses exclusively on enterprise software companies, has agreed to acquire Australia-listed Elmo Software at a valuation of AUD 483m (USD 313m).
US GP buys India's Acqueon from Everstone
US-based Long Ridge Equity Partners has acquired a majority stake in Indian customer engagement software provider Acqueon from Everstone Capital for an undisclosed sum.
Deal focus: Gamurs gears up for M&A boom
Gamurs claims to have carved a niche as the largest gaming news publisher in the English-speaking world on the back of 39 acquisitions in seven years. Its Series A will go towards more purchases
China EV brand Aion raises $2.5b
GAC Aion, an electric vehicle (EV) brand under GAC Group, a Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturer, has raised CNY 18.3bn (USD 2.5bn) in Series A funding at a valuation of CNY 103.2bn from 53 so-called strategic investors.
Sofina leads $46m round for India agtech player DeHaat
Sofina, a Belgium-headquartered holding company and an active investor in Asia-based start-ups, has led a INR 3.66bn (USD 45.8m) Series E round for Indian agricultural technology platform DeHaat at a valuation of USD 695m.
Philippines fintech start-up gets $16m Series A
Abu Dhabi’s ADQ has backed a USD 16m Series A round for a Philippines-based financial technology start-up founded by former executives of Russian digital banking leader Tinkoff Bank.
VC-backed Singapore biotech start-up agrees SPAC merger
Singapore’s AUM Biosciences, a VC-backed oncology treatments developer, has agreed to a NASDAQ listing via special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at a pre-money equity valuation of USD 400m.
Pavilion backs Singapore influencer platform
Temasek Holdings-owned Pavilion Capital has joined a USD 7m round for Singapore’s Partipost, which claims to be Asia’s fastest-growing crowd influencer marketing and commerce platform.
Globis leads $22m Series C for Japan's Trend Express
Globis Capital Partners has led JPY 3.3bn (USD 22.1m) Series C round for Japan’s Trend Express, a cross-border marketing and data analysis platform focused on Japan-China tourism.
China energy storage player Hithium gets $276m Series B
Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage Technology, a China-based battery manufacturer, has secured CNY 2bn (USD 276m) in Series B funding led by ABC International.
Horizons leads Series A for Australia's Nourish Ingredients
Nourish Ingredients, an Australia-based alternative protein start-up that uses synthetic biology to produce animal-free fats, has raised USD 28.6m in Series A funding.
Deal focus: Fortitude rings in 9x return on Shopper
Shopping mall-focused digital advertising business Shopper Media Group rode out Australia’s lockdown woes to seal a sale to Woolworths, with Fortitude Investment Partners getting a 9x return