Financial Services
PEP-owned Link Group seeks up to $665m in Australia offering
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) portfolio company Link Group is looking to raise as much as A$946.5 million ($665 million) in an IPO on the Australian bourse.
Alibaba re-ups in India’s Paytm
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and its online finance affiliate Ant Financial Services Group have made a further investment in Paytm, India's largest mobile payment and commerce platform.
Creation, Everstone lead $15m round for India's SLCM
Everstone Capital and Creation Investments Capital Management have led a INR1 billion ($15 million) round for Indian agricultural logistics firm Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM).
Bain invests $199m in India's L&T Finance
Bain Capital has acquired a 10.3% stake in L&T Finance Holdings, the financial services unit of Indian engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T), for approximately INR13.04 billion ($199 million).
China Post Capital invests in Alibaba's Ant Financial
China Post Capital, an investment arm of postal service operator China Post Group, has purchased a minority stake in Ant Financial, Alibaba Group’s online financial services affiliate.
Australian SME lender Prospa raises $41m
Prospa, an online platform that focuses on lending to Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has raised A$60 million ($41 million) in a funding from a string of private equity firms.
JD Capital to acquire Ageas’ HK life insurance unit for $1.4b
Chinese private equity firm JD Capital has agreed to buy Ageas’ Hong Kong life insurance business for HK$10.68 billion ($1.38 billion).
Portfolio: Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and AMTD
Hong Kong-based financial advisor AMTD wants to meet the needs of mainland investors looking to access international markets. Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia is helping the firm best position itself
Deal focus: Standard Chartered PE backs exceptional Dianrong
Regulators are catching up with China’s booming online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending industry. Last month the People Bank of China (PBoC), in conjunction with nine other government agencies, issued the first guidelines for policing internet finance. P2P...
Japan’s Freee raises $30m Series C round
DCM, Recruit Holdings and Japan Co-Invest have committed $30 million in Series C funding to Freee, a Japan-based provider of automated online accounting software.
India's One97 to split e-commerce, payments businesses - report
Indian mobile services One97 Communications will spin off its electronic payment service Paytm into a separate entity under One97's co-founder Shekhar Sharma.
Standard Chartered, CFF lead $207m round for China’s Dianrong
A consortium co-led by Standard Chartered Bank and China Fintech Fund (CFF) has invested $207 million in a Series C round of funding for Dianrong.com, a Chinese VC-backed peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending service platform.
Japan bitcoin exchange raises $4m
Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange platform bitFlyer has raised a JPY510 million ($4 million) round of funding from a group of Japanese investors.
LeapFrog takes part in $25m round for India's IFMR Holdings
LeapFrog Investments and Lok Capital have taken part in a $25 million funding round, led by global microfinance-oriented nonprofit Accion, for Indian non-banking finance company (NBFC) IFMR Holdings.
Carlyle to exit Taiwan’s Ta Chong Bank to Yuanta Financial
Taiwan's Yuanta Financial Holdings is to acquire Ta Chong Bank, a local mid-size commercial bank backed by The Carlyle Group, in a deal worth NT$56.55 billion ($1.7 billion).
Indian payments security start-up raises $7.5m Series B round
Indian online payment security system developer OneAssist has raised a $7.5 million Series B round led by US insurance firm Assurant, with participation by existing investors Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Ant Financial leads $200m round for China’s Qufenqi
Ant Financial Service Group, Alibaba Group's online financial services affiliate, has led a $200 million round of funding for Qufenqi, a Chinese electronics retailer that allows buyers to pay in installments.
India payments firm raises $23m from Helion, Social+Capital
Helion Advisors and Social+Capital have participated in a $23 million Series C round for mobile payment solutions provider Ezetap.
US-based Metaway Capital backs China online finance site
Metaway Capital has led a RMB100 million ($16 million) Series A round for Chinese online banking site Bankwel.
Tencent leads $60m round for Hong Kong online brokerage
Tencent Holdings has led a Series B round of funding worth $60 million for Hong Kong-based online brokerage Futu5.com, with participation from Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital.
BNP Paribas to acquire PE-backed Sharekhan
French bank BNP Paribas has agreed to acquire Indian retail brokerage Sharekhan from its private equity backers.
Australia's NAB to invest $36m in fintech start-ups
National Australia Bank (NAB) will set up a A$50 million ($36 million) fund to invest in start-ups that help enhance its financial services product offerings.
P2P lender China Rapid Finance gets $35m Series C round
Broadline Capital has led a $35 million Series C round of funding for peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform China Rapid Finance. The investment gives the business a pre-money valuation of $1 billion.
China Minsheng Investment to acquire Sirius for $2.2b
Bermuda-based White Mountains Insurance Group has agreed to sell its subsidiary Sirius International Insurance Group to China Mingsheng Investment (CMI) for $2.2 billion.