Analysis
Infrastructure: Out of the comfort zone
Infrastructure managers in Australia are pushing into the PE space, competing with GPs for assets and buying businesses from them. It falls under the core-plus umbrella, but is the definition being stretched too far?
GP profile: Creador
Creador claims to be Southeast Asia’s only middle-market GP with on-the-ground capacities across the region. But in-house post-deal support and nimble deal sourcing are its key differentiators
AVCJ Awards 2021: Exit of the Year – Large Cap: Softex Indonesia
CVC Capital Partners helped Softex Indonesia grow its market share by penetrating modern retail channels and launching an ESG program. A USD 1.2bn trade sale exit to Kimberly-Clark was its reward
AVCJ Awards 2021: Operational Value Add: Best & Less Group
Allegro Funds plucked Australian baby and kids retailer Best & Less from its underperforming parent and defied pandemic-related uncertainty to complete a turnaround that culminated in an IPO
AVCJ Awards 2021: Deal of the Year – Large Cap: China Biologic
For Centurium Capital, China Biologic was no ordinary take-private. It was the culmination of a multi-year effort to tighten the company’s shareholding structure and root out management inefficiencies
AVCJ Awards 2021 special issue available for download
A special issue of AVCJ profiling the winners of the 2021 AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards is now available for download.
India consumer media: Showtime
Investors navigate slim margins and a complex cultural landscape as new digital channels help Indian media rebound from COVID-19. Sector leaders are flirting with global expansion, but is it too early?
AVCJ Awards 2021: Deal of the Year – Small Cap: Ajaib
Having spent more than a year perfecting its product, Ajaib turned Indonesia’s brokerage industry on its head in six months. Emphasis on product and customer engagement have paid dividends
AVCJ Awards 2021: Exit of the Year – Mid Cap: Infogain
ChrysCapital has realized its largest-ever exit from a single-fund investment with IT services provider Infogain. In the process, it opened one of private equity’s richest cross-border opportunity sets
AVCJ Awards 2021: Firm of the Year – Large Cap: Baring Private Equity Asia
Baring Private Equity Asia claims that a thematic approach to origination and flexibility on deal structure allow it to pursue opportunities with greater conviction in a high-valuation environment
AVCJ Awards 2021: Firm of the Year – Mid Cap: Quadrant Private Equity
Quadrant Private Equity’s recent deals have focused on defensive, non-cyclical sectors, but the Australian GP continues to track a consumer story driven by technology and new modes of delivery
AVCJ Awards 2021: Fundraising of the Year - Venture Capital: 5Y Capital
5Y Capital’s history encompasses early bets on change across mobile internet, smart cars, and biotech in China. The VC firm remains committed to challenging consensus views
Asia agglomeration: Strength in numbers?
PE-backed agglomeration platforms are looking to buy up consumer brands in Asia with a view to leveraging the might of the collective. The model requires discipline in selection and execution
China IPOs: Offshore angst
Private equity exit timelines were thrown into disarray last year when US IPOs abruptly stopped. Regulators have offered some clarity, but investors are unsure when – or if – the magic will return
Portfolio: Affirma and Sunwoo Fresh
Affirma Capital is helping Korea’s Sunwoo Fresh discover new revenue streams overseas, online, and in adjacent links of the beef importing value chain. Aggressive M&A has accelerated the process
4Q analysis: Record quarter, record year
China rebounds as Asia private equity investment ends 2021 with a bang; bright spots in improving fundraising environment; sponsor-to-sponsor exits thrive while PE-backed IPOs stumble
Metaverse: Too concrete to ignore
As lives lived online find a virtual world to call home, investors, brands, governments, corporations, and accountants follow them in. Real estate, avatars, and new ideas are in demand. Goggles are not
Diversity & inclusion: Acting with intent
GPs are looking to build teams representing different genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds as stakeholders call for more diversity and studies suggest it leads to better decision making
India sports: In it to win it
Private equity interest in the commercialisation of sport globally is filtering through to India, with a couple of high-profile cricket deals. What other franchises and rights owners could be up for grabs?
2022 preview: ESG
Keeping tabs on sustainability credentials at the portfolio and company level will become more data-driven and collaborative. Eventually, getting results will require greater sacrifices
2022 preview: Blockchain
A broader range of investors will play in the blockchain space as new applications are normalized, although regulation remains the wildcard. Developing markets will punch above their weight
2022 preview: Japan VC
Japanese VC is growing up fast and looking a little less homogenous in the process. A longstanding growth-stage gap is about to disappear as new actors file in
2022 preview: Healthcare
Healthcare’s high-cost, rapidly digitizing profile will persist regardless of how COVID-19 plays out in the coming years. China appears set for consolidation, including in biotech
2022 preview: India tech
As India’s technology sector balloons, investors are balancing confidence about fundamentals with expectations of pushback. Both will play out in 2022 to some extent