Growth capital
India edtech: Class dismissed
With investment all but evaporated and its champion in a tailspin of bad press, India’s massive online K-12 education space is in an awkward limbo. It’s a welcome correction though
US sports, media-focused GP backs Australia's PMY Group
Bluestone Equity Partners, a US private equity firm specialising in sports and media, has made an investment of undisclosed size in Australia’s PMY Group, an IT provider for stadiums and arenas.
Korean investors pump $150m into fuel cell maker HyAxiom
Korea Investment Private Equity, KDB Investment–Hana Securities, and KB Asset Management have led an investment of approximately USD 150m in HyAxiom, a fuel cell manufacturer controlled by South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group.
KKR leads $190m Series C for Korea fashion platform
KKR has led a USD 190m Series C round for Korean online fashion platform Musinsa with support from Wellington Management.
Quadria to invest $155m in India eye hospital
Quadria Capital has invested USD 155m in Maxivision Eye Hospital, a chain of 42 eye hospitals and vision clinics across five states in southern and western India.
Deal focus: National team drives Hithium towards China IPO
Government and state-owned investors accounted for most, but not all, of Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage Technology’s USD 622m Series C, underlining where China’s strategic priorities lie
Korean battery materials supplier raises $302m
IMM Investment and Premier Partners are the largest participants in a KRW 400bn (USD 302.7m) funding round for EcoPro Innovation, a battery materials business of KOSDAQ-listed EcoPro.
Deal focus: L Catterton sees value in the Drools recipe
Indian pet food producer Drools is the runaway leader among local brands, trailing only multinational mainstay Mars. The challenge for L Catterton was persuading a profitable company to take its money
China ride hailing platform Ruqi Mobility secures $117m
Ruqi Mobility, a ride-hailing platform incubated by Chinese state-backed automaker GAC Group, has raised CNY 842m (USD 117m) in a Series B funding round led by Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group.
L Catterton extends pet food focus to India
L Catterton’s interest in Asia-based pet food businesses has extended from China to India with a commitment of approximately USD 60m to Drools Pet Food, which claims to be the country’s leading local pet food supplier.
Hildrics Capital backs Malaysian rubber producer
Singapore-based private equity firm Hildrics Capital has acquired an 8.2% stake in Malaysia-listed GIIB Rubber, a supplier of gloves and industrial rubber-based components.
Deal focus: Atomberg basks in consumer breakthrough
Home appliances manufacturer Atomberg defied the naysayers in building a hardware-focused consumer brand out of India. Its USD 86m Series C will support product and capacity expansion
Little Red Book invests in PE-backed Chinese coffee chain
M Stand - a China-based coffee shop chain with ambitions to become the Starbucks for China's younger generation - has raised an extended Series B round of several hundred million renminbi led by local social commerce platform Little Red Book.
Deal focus: Go aims to bring Japan’s taxis up to speed
Goldman Sachs-backed taxi-hailing platform Go wants to address Japan’s taxi driver shortage and bring digitalisation to an industry that remains rooted in an analogue world
Prosperity7 backs China autonomous driving player Hyperview
Prosperity7 Ventures, a growth equity fund established by Saudi Arabia state oil giant Saudi Aramco, has invested in Hyperview, a China-based autonomous driving technology provider.
Goldman backs Japan taxi-hailing player Go
Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has committed JPY 10bn (USD 75m) in Series D funding to Go Inc, operator of a Japan-based taxi-hailing app.
General Atlantic raises exposure to India's PhonePe
General Atlantic has invested USD 100m in India’s PhonePe only four months after providing the payments platform with a USD 350m round at a pre-money valuation of USD 12bn.
East Ventures closes follow-on fund at $250m
East Ventures has announced a first and final close of USD 250m on its latest follow-on fund, bringing capital raised in the past 12 months to USD 835m.
China's Pudu Tech raises another tranche of Series C funding
Pudu Tech, a China-based manufacturer of service robots, has raised a fourth tranche of Series C funding amounting to several hundred million renminbi (CNY 100m equates to USD 14m) from local investor Yuedu Capital.
Singapore fintech player AIG raises $80m
Advance Intelligence Group (AIG), a Singapore-headquartered and Indonesia-focused financial technology company, has raised USD 80m in funding led by existing investors Warburg Pincus and Northstar Group.
Chiratae closes debut growth fund on $122m
India’s Chiratae Ventures has closed its debut late-stage VC fund with about INR 10bn (USD 122.3m) in commitments, beating a target of INR 7.5bn.
China: Who’s investing?
Private equity investment in China remains in the doldrums yet local investors claim to see green shoots. Where, when, and how they engage with the market is likely to differ from previous cycles
Khazanah commits $40m to India's Xpressbees
Malaysia sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional has invested USD 40m in India-based logistics start-up Xpressbees through the acquisition of shares from one of the company’s early backers.
V Fund backs China treasury management software player
V Fund Management, a Beijing-based PE firm founded by a group of former Goldman Sachs bankers, has led a Series C round amounting to hundreds of millions of renminbi for Sikulifang, a local software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider specialising in treasury...