TMT
India home appliances marketplace raises $20m
Indian hyper-local online marketplace Zopper has raised $20 million from existing investors Tiger Global and Nirvana Venture Advisors.
Morningside backs China mathematics teaching start-up
Early-stage investor Morningside Technologies has led a $5 million Series A round of funding for Leleketang, a China-based online teaching platform that specializes in mathematics and Chinese.
Warburg Pincus invests $120m in India's Ecom Express
Ecom Express, an Indian e-commerce logistics startup, has raised INR8.5 billion ($120 million) from Warburg Pincus.
Taiwan launches $120m Silicon Valley VC fund
Taiwan’s National Development Fund (NDF) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) have agreed to form $120 million VC fund that will invest in Silicon Valley tech start-ups.
SoftBank commits $1b to Korea e-commerce player Coupang
Japan’s SoftBank Corp. has added another Asian e-commerce brand to its portfolio with a $1 billion commitment to South Korea-based Coupang.
CBC leads $15m round for China public transport app
China Broadband Capital (CBC) has led a $15 million Series B round of funding for Chelaile, a Chinese public bus tracking app.
Corporate VC: Pleasing the parent
Companies want to keep tabs on technological innovation in order to stay relevant in their industries by nurturing Asia’s tech start-ups. However, there is no uniform approach to corporate venture capital
Focus Media set for $7b reverse merger in Shenzhen - update
Shenzhen-listed Jiangsu Hongda New Material will acquire Chinese outdoor advertising business Focus Media, which was taken private two years ago by a consortium of PE investors and company management, for RMB45.7 billion ($7.37 billion), paving the way...
Sequoia leads $15m Series B for Chinese food platform Mishi
Sequoia Capital has provided $15 million in Series B funding to Mishi, a Chinese app that aggregates private kitchens. Neil Shen, Sequoia’s managing partner, compared the business to a “gourmet version of Airbnb.”
WI Harper, ITIC lead $4m Series A for Taiwan's HWTrek
Taiwan business networking startup HWTrek has raised a $4 million Series A round led by WI Harper and the Industrial Technology Investment Corporation (ITIC), with participation from Legend Star Capital, JD.com, and Global Brain.
Silver Lake leads $500m investment in China's Qunar
Silver Lake has invested $330 million in Qunar, a US-listed Chinese travel-booking platform controlled by Baidu, as part of a $500 million strategic investment. This comes after the company rejected a buyout offer from industry peer Ctrip.
China tour-booking site raises $80m Series E round
Chinese tour-booking site Lvmama has raised a Series E round worth RMB500 million ($80 million) from Jianjiang International Group.
China luxury e-commerce site gets $30m Series C round
Pacific Venture Partners has led a $30 million Series C round of funding for Xiu.com, a China-based luxury brand e-commerce platform.
China’s Weibo invests $142m in local taxi-booking platform
Chinese social media platform Weibo Corporation has invested $142 million in Kuaidi Dache and Didi Dache, the country’s leading mobile taxi-booking services, which recently agreed to merge.
PE-backed SSI to acquire Australia, New Zealand marketing firms
Survey Sampling International (SSI), a US-based market research company backed by Palo-Alto PE firm HGGC, will acquire online research panels MyOpinions, of Australia, and SmileCity Limited, of New Zealand.
Tiger Global joins $134m placement for China's eHi
Tiger Global has joined hedge fund SRS Partners in a $134 million stock placement for Chinese car rental service eHi Car Services.
Chinese games platform Egret gets Series B round
Shenzhen Capital Group and Matrix Partners China have participated in a Series B round of funding for Egret Technology, a Chinese internet technology platform that focuses on mobile games development.
China’s JD.com leads $70m round for VC-backed Fruitday
Chinese online retailer JD.com has led a $70 million Series C round for Fruitday, a China-based e-commerce site dedicated to selling imported fruit.
Ant Financial launches $160m internet finance fund
Ant Financial Service Group, Alibaba Group’s online financials services affiliate, has launched a RMB1 billion ($160 million) fund to invest in internet and finance companies.
IDG joins take-private consortium for China's Sungy Mobile
IDG Capital Partners has thrown its weight behind a management-led bid to privatize NASDAQ-listed Chinese app developer Sungy Mobile. The deal values the company at approximately $155 million.
Tiger Global continues run of Just Dial share sales
Tiger Global continues to exit India-listed online business directory Just Dial, selling a 5.37% stake - half of its remaining 9.18% holding - for INR4.08 billion ($64 million) via an open market transaction.
Orient PE unit bids for China mobile games developer
A private equity unit of Chinese brokerage Orient Securities has submitted a take-private bid for NASDAQ-listed game developer China Mobile Games & Entertainment Group (CMGE).
Tsinghua buys HP’s China data-networking business – update
Tsinghua Holdings has agreed to buy a majority stake in Hewlett-Packard's (HP) China-based data-networking business for approximately $2.3 billion.
Sequoia leads $16m Series B round for India's Akosha
Indian customer feedback platform Akosha has raised $16 million in a Series B round led by existing investor Sequoia Capital.