Financial Services
TPG exits a more diversified UT Capital
Property prices in China are inextricably linked to government policy. Vigilant to the emergence of bubbles in different geographies and segments, the authorities are ready with measures to curb price growth, but they must also ensure a sector that contributes...
Hony among first batch of companies to set up in Shanghai free trade zone
Hony Capital was among the first batch of companies to be awarded licenses to operate in Shanghai's new free trade zone, which is being touted as a new test bed for economic reform.
TPG exits China leasing business to Haitong Securities for $715m
TPG Capital has agreed to sell Chinese financial leasing business UT Capital Group to Haitong International Holdings for approximately $715 million. It brings to an end a five-year ownership period during which UT Capital has expanded its activity from...
PE-backed OzForex plans $413m IPO
OzForex Group - an Australian online foreign exchange services provider backed by The Carlyle Group, Accel Partners and Macquarie Group - plans to raise $440 million in its Australian IPO scheduled for October 11.
China Private Equity Investment exits AIP Global to Capital VC
China Private Equity Investment Holdings (CPE) has agreed to sell its entire holding of 2.45% in AIP Global, a Hong Kong-based investment holding company that focuses on the financial sector, to Capital VC for HK$15 million ($19 million).
KKR India NBFC raises $100m from US pension fund - report
KKR India Financial Services, the global private equity firm's non-banking financial company (NBFC), has reportedly raised $100 million from The Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
India’s Micro Housing Finance Corp raises $5.5m in new equity funding
Unilazer Ventures and existing backers Caspian Advisor’s India Financial Inclusion Fund and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation have invested INR350 million ($5.5 million) in Micro Housing Finance Corporation (MHFC), which makes housing loans to lower...
LeapFrog in $204m first close on emerging markets microfinance fund
Specialist microfinance investor LeapFrog Investments has reached a first close of $204 million for its second fund after just eight months in the market. The vehicle, which has a full target of $400 million, will back companies in South Asia, Southeast...
Battle of the strategics
We have grown accustomed to China’s incumbent internet giants engaging in M&A. Since 2010, the BATS – Baidu, Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings and Sina – have deployed around $6.5 billion (and that’s just disclosed transactions), eight times the...
SmartPay joins Ping An’s e-payment push
Ping An Insurance Group has taken the fight to Alibaba Group once before. In 2010 it bought an 80% stake in online grocery retailer Yihaodian and helped build the business into one of China’s leading B2C e-commerce players, finding space in the corner...
Sequoia invests $10m in China personal finance site
Sequoia Capital has committed a total of $10 million across two rounds of funding for Feidee.com, a Beijing-based personal finance management website.
Portfolio: Everstone Capital and IndoStar Capital Finance
While PE investors have been keen to capitalize on India’s financial services industry, Everstone Capital took a unique approach to the sector – building an independent non-banking financial company
Ascent Capital invests $3.7m in CARE Ratings
Ascent Capital will invest INR250 million ($3.69 million) in Indian credit rating agency Credit Analysis and Research (CARE)
MBK Partners to buy ING Life Korea for $1.65b
North Asia buyout firm MBK Partners has agreed to buy ING Group’s South Korean life insurance division for approximately KRW1.84 trillion ($1.65 billion) as the Dutch insurer continued its Asia divestment plan. ING will retain a 10% stake in the business...
TPG takes 23% stake in India’s Shriram City Union NBFC
TPG Capital has acquired a direct 22.65% stake in Shriram City Union Finance (SCUF) following a restructuring of the non-bank financing company’s (NBFC) holding vehicles.
Phillip Capital takes stake in Indonesian equipment finance business
Singapore-based Phillip Capital Group has acquired a 9.71% stake in Intan Baruprana Finance (IBF), the financing arm of Indonesian heavy equipment distributor Intraco Penta, through a rights issue. Transaction value was not disclosed.
Aavishkaar backs Indian ATM outsourcing company EPS
Indian VC firm Aavishkaar has invested another $6 million in Electronic Payments and Services (EPS), after putting $4 million in the company last year.
Morgan Stanley leads $53m round in India’s Janalakshmi MFI
Microfinance lender Janalakshmi Financial Services has raised INR3.25 billion ($52.8 million) in a Series D round of funding led by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia.
PE-backed Ratnakar Bank buys part of RBS' India business
Ratnakar Bank will acquire Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) Indian credit cards, mortgage and commercial banking portfolios for an undisclosed sum. The small-sized private sector lender has raised around INR10.7 billion ($177 million) from private equity...
IFM takes 34% stake in NZ's Scottish Pacific
Australia's Industry Funds Management (IFM) has taken a 34% stake in New Zealand financial services company Scottish Pacific.
Australia's IRESS acquires LDC-backed software firm Avelo
Australian software company IRESS is to acquire UK tech firm Avelo Financial Services Holdings from a private equity consortium including Lloyds TSB Development Capital (LTDC) for GBP210 million ($321 million)
IFC invests in Indian education NBFC
International Finance Corporation will back Avanse Financial Services with $2.3 million to help expand its ability to provide loans to Indian students pursuing higher education.
Financial technology: The new normal
Initiatives are in place to make private equity reporting faster, more detailed and completely standardized. Are the guidelines a good fit for the industry in Asia and what are GPs doing to meet them?
Advantage Partners exits Japan's Kazaka Securities
Japanese mid-market buyout firm Advantage Partners has sold its stake in Kazaka Securities to Osaka-based Naito Securities. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.