China
IPOs, and other China exits
Hony Capital was responsible for one of the more unusual transactions of the holiday period. The private equity firm provided the cash option for shareholders who didn’t want to participate in China International Marine Containers’ conversion of its...
Jack Ma’s retirement as Alibaba CEO fuels IPO speculation
Jack Ma will step down as CEO of Alibaba Group in May ahead of the private equity-backed firm’s widely anticipated IPO. Ma, who will remain as chairman indicated that he wanted to hand over to a younger successor, telling employees that “the next...
Hony exits Hong Kong-listed Chaowei Power
Hony Capital has exited all its shares in Chaowei Power Holdings, a Chinese lead-acid battery manufacturer listed in Hong Kong, for HK$600 million ($77 million).
DCM invests in Chinese game developer Cmune
DCM has provided an undisclosed amount in Series A funding to Cmune, a China-based developer of 3D social games. The company is best known for UberStrike, which claims to the most popular first-person-shooter game on Facebook with 1.4 million monthly...
Freshfields adds William Woo to China corporate practice
William Woo, a specialist in capital markets, private equity and M&A work, has joined Freshfields’ corporate practice in Hong Kong. He was previously a partner at Orrick.
CSRC to tighten surveillance on IPO applicants
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), under the pressure to clamp down on corporate fraud, plans to introduce a formal examination process of the 2012 financial reports of companies seeking a public listing.
Goodwin Procter adds partner to Asia PE practice
Goodwin Procter has recruited Gloria Liu as a partner in its private equity and M&A practices, based in Hong Kong. She joins from Paul Weiss, where she was a senior associate.
Fosun, IFC set up Asia-focused reinsurer
Fosun International has teamed up with International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, to enter the Asia Pacific reinsurance market. The newly established operation, Peak Reinsurance Company (Peak Re), has been licensed...
Apax exits IEE to Chinese investors
Apax Partners has agreed to sell Electronics & Engineering (IEE), a Luxembourg-based developer of specialized sensing systems, to a consortium comprising Chinese strategic investors and an international financial investor.
Actis invests in Chinese medical equipment manufacturer
Actis has entered China’s healthcare space by purchasing a significant minority stake in Nanjing Micro-Tech, a manufacturer of specialist medical equipment used in hospitals and surgeries.
Attractive China secondary targets rising at 25% per year – study
At least 200 private equity portfolio companies in China are attractive targets for potential secondary buyers and the number is likely to grow 15-25% per year as funds come to the end of their lives and find that exit options are still limited.
China's B-share exodus
China International Marine Containers’ landmark B-share to H-share conversion could be the first of many such migrations. Does Hony Capital’s participation point to a role for private equity?
Private equity remains unregulated under China’s new fund law
Private equity and venture capital have been omitted from China's revised Securities Investment Funds Law, which comes into effect in June. This means the asset class will remain largely unregulated.
KKR to put another $40m into United Envirotech
KKR has agreed to invest $40 million in United Envirotech (UEL), a Chinese water treatment and recycling solution provider. The private equity firm previously subscribed to $113.8 million convertible bonds issued by UEL in October 2011.
China take-privates: A challenging proposition
Management buyouts of US-listed Chinese companies are all the rage, but these transactions present unique challenges in terms of execution. Only the good survive.
Carlyle completes China Pacific exit, takes total sales value past $5b
The Carlyle Group has completed what is said to be its largest-ever cash exit globally, selling the last of its interest in China Pacific Insurance for $796 million. The private equity firm has accumulated more than $5 billion through a series of block...
Chinese short-term rental sites secure $20m in VC backing
Xiaozhu.com and Mayi.con, two competing Chinese websites specializing in short-term room rentals, have each secured $10 million in VC funding.
Wanxiang-backed fund exits D&R to strategic buyer
Summit Strategic Investments, a private equity fund controlled by Chinese auto parts manufacturer Wanxiang Group, has exited US-based D&R Technology to CTS Corporation.
Essex Woodlands promotes Barry, Yang in Shanghai
Silicon Valley-based healthcare investor Essex Woodlands has promoted David Yang and Scott Barry, who run its Shanghai office, to managing director. The promotions, two of five made by the company globally, came into effect on January 1.
Hony Capital’s John Zhao becomes CVCA chairman
John Zhao, CEO of Hony Capital, has been elected to succeed Yichen Zhang, his counterpart at CITIC Capital, as chairman of the China Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA).
China's Mailman to set up early-stage Asia fund
Mailman, a social media and digital marketing company based in China, is a forming a start-up fund that will provide Series A funding rounds.
China to see record PE deal flow in 2013 – PwC
China is likely to see record highs in terms of private equity deal volume and value in 2013, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, as a “perfect storm” of turmoil in the global economy and a slowing domestic economy allows investors to target larger-scale...
VIDEO: Paul Strecker of Shearman & Sterling
The Chinese government's decision to allow overseas private equity investments by domestic insurers will be a boon for global fundraising, according to Paul Strecker, head of Shearman & Sterling's Asia M&A group
China eases restrictions on mutual funds to include private vehicles
China is planning to bolster the equities market by allowing brokerages and insurers’ asset management units to launch mutual funds. “Sunshine” funds, which traditionally invest privately raised capital in listed companies, will also be eligible.