Japan
Advantage sees 7x return on coffee chain deal
When Advantage Partenrs paid JPY15 billion ($146 million) for a 78% stake in Komeda Coffee in 2008, the chain was to a certain extent a victim of its own success. After more than 40 years of expansion the company had grown to around 300 stores and its...
LP interview: Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund
Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is considering the addition of alternative investments to its portfolio. It must find a balance between conservatism and the need for higher returns
J-Star exit sees 3x return on Olive des Olive exit
J-Star, a Japanese mid-market buyout firm, has exited Tokyo clothing brand Olive des Olive to wholesale company Takisada-Osaka, securing a return of more than 3x and an estimated IRR of 35-40%.
GPs upbeat on ailing Japan
Private equity investors expect to see more buyout opportunities in Japan despite a weak deal environment in recent years and ongoing concerns about the country's economy.
Cerberus to raise $1.7b through Aozora Bank exit
Cerberus Capital Management is set to raise 146.1 billion ($1.7 billion) as it sells the bulk of its 58% stake in Japan's Aozora Bank following a nine-year holding period.
KKR boosts Asia business by offering outbound deal access
Building relationships and generating deal flow in Asia doesn’t necessarily involve starting in Asia, according to Joe Bae, regional head of KKR. The private equity firm has made inroads in Japan, South Korea and China by providing local partners with...
The debt deadline: Japans's SMEs at a crossroads
Japan’s Debt Moratorium Law, seen by some industry participants as an impediment to PE deal flow in the last three year, is set to expire at the end of March. Does this spell new opportunities for the industry?
Advantage Partners sells Komeda coffee shop chain to MBK
Advantage Partners has agreed to sell its controlling stake in Japanese coffee shop chain Komeda to MBK Partners.
PE-backed InMobi acquires Overlay media
Indian mobile ad network InMobi has acquired Overlay Media, a UK developer of “content aware” computing technologies.
Carlyle sees return on capsule innovation
Gelatin has been used to produce two-piece drug capsules for nearly 100 years, largely thanks to its ability to dissolve easily and be manufactured to a uniform thickness. The problem is that the manufacturing technique has never been all that kosher,...
Cerberus begins Aozora exit with $1.8b sell down
Cerberus is to sell the bulk of its 58% holding in Japan's Aozora Bank through a public market sale that could generate up to JPY158.1 billion ($1.8 billion). The US firm's stake would fall to 8%.
Mizuho, JBIC to set up $183m SME private equity fund
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Mizuho Corporate Bank (Mizuho CB) and Mizuho Bank will form the Mizuho ASEAN PE Fund to support the overseas expansion of Japanese mid-tier and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Indonesia's Berrybenka gets funding from Gree Ventures
Gree Ventures, the VC arm of social Japanese social networking giant Gree, has completed its third investment in Indonesia, providing a Series A round of funding to fashion-focused e-commerce start-up Berrybenka. The size of the investment was not disclosed....
Carlyle exits Japan's Qualicaps to Mitsubishi Chemical
The Carlyle Group has exited its holding in Qualicaps, a supplier of pharma-grade capsules, to Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings for JPY55.8billion ($639 million).
VCs and mobile internet: The race to stay relevant
Venture capital investors targeting the mobile and social media space are only as good as their understanding of the consumer habits and technologies that underpin industry trends
Taiwan's Chinatrust in talks to buy Tokyo Star Bank - report
Chinatrust Commercial Bank, one of Taiwan's largest commercial banks, is reportedly in talks to acquire Tokyo Star Bank for JPY50 billion ($582 million). Tokyo Star's shareholders, which include Lone Star Funds, have previously struggled to find interested...
Advantage Partners buys Sanyo's camera business
Advantage Partners has acquired Sanyo Electric’s digital camera unit. Panasonic, which took control of its former competitor in 2009 in a JPY400 billion ($4.6 billion) acquisition, said it chose to do business with Advantage because of the private equity...
Carlyle relists Chimney, completes partial exit
The Carlyle Group has completed a partial exit from Japanese restaurant chain Chimney having relisted the company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange three years after taking it private. It is the private equity firm’s first IPO in Japan this year, having abandoned...
Fortress closes second Japan distress fund at $1.6b
Fortress Investment Group has closed its second distress fund, Fortress Japan Opportunity Fund II, at its hard cap of JPY130 billion ($1.65 billion). It is the successor fund to Fortress Japan Opportunity Domestic Fund (FJOF) which closed in June 2010...
Japan's Fuller gets $1.2m seed round
Japanese internet service provider ASAHI Net and m8 Capital, a London-based VC firm, are leading a JPY100 million ($1.2 million) round of seed funding for Japan-based start-up Fuller Inc.
Advantage Partners in possible Sanyo acquisition - report
Panasonic may sell its Sanyo digital camera unit to Advantage Partners by the end of March.
2012: That was the year that was
The broad trends and particular highlights of private equity fundraising, investment and exit activity in Asia
Renesas sells $1.8b in shares to INCJ-led consortium
Ailing Japanese chip-maker Renesas will sell JPY150 billion ($1.8 billion) of new shares to a consortium led by government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ).
Composition Capital invests in four Asian projects
Composition Capital Partners has invested in four projects in Macau, Taiwan and Malaysia through its local joint venture partners. The property-focused investor has also exited a Tokyo office development within a year of acquisition.