Financial Services
ICICI Venture invests $22.4m in BTI Payments
ICICI Venture has committed INR1.4 billion ($22.4 million) to BTI Payments for a significant stake in the ATM and point-of-sales (POS) services contractor.
Blackbird leads round for Australian bitcoin start-up
Blackbird Ventures has invested A$250,000 ($227,645) to lead a A$500,000 round of funding for Melbourne-based CoinJar, a bitcoin wallet and exchange provider. Angel investors in the round include RetailMeNot founders Guy King and Bevan Clark and game...
Hitachi acquires Sequoia-backed Prizm
Hitachi will acquire all issued equity of India’s Prizm Payment Services from Sequoia Capital, Axis Bank and other shareholders. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Norway fund, Oaktree among anchors for China Cinda IPO
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and Oaktree Capital Management are two of 10 cornerstone investors that will cover up to 44% of China Cinda Asset Management Corp’s IPO. The company, originally set up to absorb non-performing loans (NPLs) from China’s...
Bitcoin boom
“It is in some ways easier to buy things in China using bitcoin than it is using traditional fiat currency,” says Dan Ciporin, partner at the VC firm Canaan Partners.
Bitcoin exchange BTC China Raises $5m from Lightspeed
China’s largest bitcoin exchange by trading volume, BTC China, has raised $5 million in Series A funding from Lightspeed China Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
SoftBank China invests in P2P lending site Yooli.com
Chinese peer-to-peer financing platform Yooli.com has received $10 million in Series A funding from Softbank China Capital. The platform launched in February but already has nearly 100,000 registered users and has transacted more than RMB264 million ($43...
Singapore's itBit raises capital for Bitcoin exchange
Canaan Partners and RRE Ventures have co-led a $3.25 million round of funding for Singapore-headquartered Bitcoin exchange itBit. Liberty City Ventures, as well angel investors such as The Jordan Company’s Jay W. Jordan II and Beluga co-founder Ben...
IDFC Alternatives buys stake in India commodities exchange
IDFC Alternatives has acquired a 5% stake in National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), India’s largest agricultural commodity derivatives exchange, from Jaypee Financial Services for INR456 million ($7.3 million).
Taiwan's Chinatrust to buy Tokyo Star Bank for $530m
CTBC Financial, the parent company of Taiwan's Chinatrust Commercial Bank, is to buy a 98.16% stake in Tokyo Star Bank for JPY52 billion ($530 million) from US private equity firm Lone Star and other creditors-turned-shareholders. It will be the first...
Bamboo Finance sees 2x return on Mongolia XacBank exit
Emerging markets-focused private equity firm Bamboo Finance has exited its stake in TenGer Financial Group (TFG), the holding company of Mongolia's XacBank, to Japan's Orix Corp. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, but it is said...
RRJ ups stake in ING's US insurance business - report
RRJ Capital is said to have upped its stake in the US insurance unit of ING Group, investing a further $248 million.
INCJ invests $8m in Japanese mobile payment start-up
Government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) has invested JPY800 million ($8 million) in mobile payments processor Coiney.
CDH invests $3m in Chinese personal finance app Wacai
CDH Investments has committed $3 million in the latest round of funding for Hangzhou Wacai Science, a Chinese personal finance management mobile app developer.
PEP-backed Veda Advantage targets IPO
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) is hoping to raise as much as A$340 million ($326 million) through a sale of new shares as it looks to launch the Australian IPO of credit-checking firm Veda Advantage this December.
Malaysian financial comparison start-up gets $2m
Jungle Ventures has led a $2 million round of Series A funding for iMoney, a Malaysia-based financial comparison start-up. Other investors include IMJ Fenox, Fenox Venture Capital, Redbright Partners, 500 Startups and Vogel Ventures, as well as German...
IDG, CreditEase target online finance
CreditEase, the largest peer-to-peer (P2P) lender in China, has introduced a new twist to its relationship with IDG Capital Partners. Two-and-a-half years after becoming an IDG portfolio company, CreditEase has become a principal investor in an IDG-managed...
PE firms bid for South Korea’s Woori assets
Several private equity firms have submitted bids for parts of Woori Finance Holdings in the second of three separate auctions intended to finally dispose of the Korean government’s interest in the business.
SBI, FMO target up to $125m for Asia financial sector fund
Japan's SBI Holdings and the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) are looking to raise as much as $125 million for their SBI-FMO Emerging Asia Financial Sector Fund.
Creador makes SE Asia e-payment breakthrough
Creador spent a couple of years looking for ways to enter Southeast Asia’s electronic payments space without much success. “We are a firm believer that there is a shift from cash to credit and debit solutions and e-commerce will push this to the next...
Australia’s Ironbridge completes Bravura take-private
Ironbridge Capital has completed the take-private of Australia-based financial services administrator Bravura Solutions after minority shareholders approved a deal that values the company around A$173 million ($158 million).
Creador to take 20% stake in Malaysia's GHL, back e-pay acquisition
Creador will take a 20% stake in Malaysia-based payment services provider GHL Systems through a private placement of new shares. The capital will in part be used to finance GHL’s proposed acquisition of Australian Securities Exchange-listed e-pay Asia.
DRC Capital exits Japan's Casa to Ant Capital
DRC Capital has sold Japan's Casa, a rent guarantee provider formerly known as Rento Go, to Ant Capital Partners and the firm's management. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
IDG, CreditEase to launch financial innovation fund
IDG Capital Partners and CreditEase, a Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) microcredit lender, have set up a financial innovation fund, targeting a first close of $100 million. The vehicle - IDG CreditEase Financial Innovation Fund – will support online financial...