News
Australia's Blue Sky raises $78m
Australia-listed private equity firm Blue Sky Alternative Investments has raised A$100 million ($78 million) through the sale of new shares.
Cisco invests in IDG's latest India venture fund
Cisco Investments, the VC arm of US technology giant Cisco, has committed an undisclosed amount to the third fund of IDG Ventures India.
India's NestAway gets $61m Series D
NestAway, a VC-backed Indian IT start-up focused on the local home rental market, has raised a INR4 billion ($61.4 million) Series D funding round with participation from Goldman Sachs.
Augentius appoints new Asia head
Fund administrator Augentius has appointed Jimmy Leong as managing director for Asia following the departure of Alexander Traub to Alter Domus.
HarbourVest adds managing director in Hong Kong
HarbourVest Partners has promoted Till Burges, who covers primary investments out of the firm’s Hong Kong office, to managing director.
HDFC joins Series C for India's MedGenome
Indian listed financial institution HDFC has joined the Series C round for MedGenome, an India and US-based company focused on molecular biology research and diagnostics.
TA-backed TCNS files for India IPO
Indian women’s apparel retailer TCNS Clothing has filed for an IPO that will provide a partial exit for private equity investor TA Associates.
LPs open-minded on multi-product managers - AVCJ Forum
The perception that private equity firms introducing additional strategies will boost their fee income but at the expense of overall returns is unfounded, provided expansion is conducted thoughtfully and alignment of interest is maintained.
Demonetization drives surge in Indian fintech investment
India’s demonetization policy has been the principal driver for a surge in financial technology investment in the country, according to research by Accenture and CB Insights.
China credit assessment player gets $160m Series D
Chinese financial technology company Wecash has closed a $160 million Series D round led by Orix Asia Capital and Hong Kong-based property investment and development firm SEA Group.
Toyota launches $2.8b car technology investment program
Toyota Group has confirmed it will establish a Tokyo-based investment program that will commit more than JPY300 billion ($2.8 billion) to autonomous driving development.
TA Associates completes exit from Australia's SpeedCast
TA Associates has made a full exit from SpeedCast, the satellite telecommunications provider it acquired in 2012 and listed in Australia two years later.
Indonesia's Go-Jek secures $1.5b Series E round
Indonesian ride-hailing and delivery platform Go-Jek has closed its Series E round at $1.5 billion with contributions from the likes of Tencent Holdings, JD.com, Meituan-Dianping, Google, Temasek Holdings, BlackRock, and Samsung Venture Investment.
Samena, Cenova in $83m round for Hong Kong’s Virtus Medical
Virtus Medical Holdings, a Hong Kong-based private medical services provider, has raised an $83 million round of funding from Samena Capital and Cenova Capital.
Tencent leads $818m round for China’s Chehaoduo
Chehaoduo, a Chinese online auto services provider that runs consumer-to-consumer (C2C) used car trading platform Guazi, has raised $818 million in a Series C round of funding led by Tencent Holdings.
Clearwater acquired by listed Canadian asset manager
Canadian asset manager Fiera Capital Corporation has acquired Hong Kong-based credit and special situations investor Clearwater Capital Partners.
CLSA buys Japanese beauty salon chain
CLSA Capital Partners (CLSA CP) has agreed to invest at least JPY10 billion ($94.3 million) to take a majority stake in Japanese beauty salon operator Agu Group. It is the firm’s second acquisition in the country this week.
Alteria reaches first close on India venture debt fund
Alteria Capital, an Indian venture debt firm established by InnoVen Capital co-founders Vinod Murali and Ajay Hattangdi, has reached a first close of INR3.6 billion ($54.6 million) for its debut fund.
Future Fund seeks Australia venture capital exposure
Australia’s Future Fund is close to making its first commitment to a local venture capital manager as part of ongoing efforts to take advantage of technological disruption in the global economy.
Sea’s Nick Nash to step down, launch VC firm
Nick Nash (pictured), group president of Singapore-headquartered mobile internet and gaming platform Sea, will step down at the end of 2018 to launch his own regional VC firm.
Chinese GPs back AstraZeneca spin-out
A consortium led by Boyu Capital, 6 Dimensions Capital and Hillhouse Capital will invest up to $250 million in Viela Bio, a pharmaceutical research and development company being spun out from AstraZeneca.
Cerberus buys Bluestone’s Australasia operations
Cerberus Capital Management has agreed to acquire the Australasian division of international financial services company Bluestone Group in an all-cash transaction. It will facilitate an exit for a PE unit of Lloyds Bank.
Japan’s GPIF awards another infrastructure mandate
Pantheon Group has won an infrastructure mandate from Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the second made by the pension fund to a global fund-of-funds.
Corporate VC funds foreshadow auto sector M&A wave
A raft of specialist fundraising activity by technology and automotive corporates suggests start-ups in nascent areas of the mobility industry could benefit from a near-term uptick in M&A activity.