News
NPS, Macquarie-backed Megabox goes on sale
Megabox, the South Korean movie theatre chain 50% owned by a consortium including the Korean National Pension Service (NPS) and Macquarie Group, is being sold at auction.
Australia’s Looop raises $2m
Looop, an Australian online learning platform for employees, has raised a $2 million seed round from an undisclosed education investor.
TA Associates hires Naresh Patwari as Mumbai office director
TA Associates has hired Naresh Patwari as a director in its Mumbai office to focus on growth equity investments in India and other emerging markets.
IvyCap, IDG invest in Indian online apparel retailer eShakti
IvyCap Ventures and IDG Ventures India (IDGVI) have participated in a undisclosed Series B round investment for India's eShakti.com, an online women's apparel retailer.
SCPE backs Vietnam's Golden Gate, Mekong secures 9x exit
Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) has acquired a significant minority stake in Golden Gate, a Vietnam-based restaurant operator, for $35 million. The investment has allowed existing backer Mekong Capital to make a full exit with a net multiple...
Permira-owned Arysta LifeScience files for US IPO
Arysta LifeScience, the Permira-owned Japanese agricultural chemical maker, has filed for its US IPO with a view to raising as much as $500 million.
Baidu backs China online learning site SmartStudy
Chinese internet giant Baidu has invested $10.6 million in a Series A round of funding for Smart SmartStudy.com, an online education platform.
Xiaomi, Shunwei lead $37m round for China P2P lending site Jimubox
Chinese smart phone maker Xiaomi and Shunwei Capital Partners, both founded by Chinese angel investor Lei Jun, have jointly led a $37.2 million Series B round of funding for Jimubox, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending start-up in China.
Clearwater exits India's Dolphin Offshore
Clearwater Capital Partners has exited its 6.53% stake in Indian marine operation and construction company Dolphin Offshore Enterprises via an open market transaction.
LPs suffer by chasing growth – AVCJ Forum
Investors in private equity funds are often preoccupied by analysis of potential growth trends and neglect close due diligence of a GP’s ability to generate value over a sustained period of time, industry participants told the AVCJ Korea Forum.
Nomura forms PE joint venture in Shenzhen
Japan’s Nomura Asset Management has set up a joint venture with Shenzhen Hua Xia Ren He Capital Management to conduct private equity fund business in China.
GenNext Ventures, Microsoft India launch tech accelerator
GenNext Ventures, the VC arm of Reliance Industries, has tied up with Microsoft Ventures India to launch an accelerator program, with a view to catalyzing the Indian technology start-up ecosystem.
Partners Group acquires $648m MLC portfolio
MLC, the private wealth unit of National Australia Bank(NAB), has sold a A$750 million ($648 million) portfolio of private equity investments to Partners Group.
LeapFrog reaches $400m close on second microfinance fund
LeapFrog Investments - the specialist microfinance investor backed by George Soros and JP Morgan Chase - has reached a $400 million close on its second fund targeting financial services investments in emerging Asia and Africa.
Japan’s Relux raises $3.1m from Recruit Holdings, others
Japanese luxury hotel booking site Relux has raised JPY330 million ($3.1 million) from Recruit Holdings and other undisclosed investors.
Gobi invests in China second-hand car trading site Mychebao
Gobi Partners has invested in a Series A round of funding for Mychebao.com, a Chinese online trading platform for second-hand cars.
Rebright leads $1m seed round for Singapore’s Smove
Japanese seed investor Rebright Partners has led a $1.1 million funding round for Clean Mobility Singapore, the Singapore-based start-up behind car rental service Smove, with participation from 500 Startups and Wavemaker Pacific.
OPTrust, Catalyst consortium acquires Australia's SkyBus
A private equity consortium including Canada's OPTrust Private Markets Group (OPTrust PMG) and Catalyst Direct Capital Management has acquired Australian bus route operator SkyBus.
PE investors set for partial exits as Alibaba targets $24b IPO
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is seeking to raise as much as $24 million through a US IPO that could be the largest tech offering in history.
Unison holds $428m first close on Fund IV, eyes $714m
Unison Capital has reached a first close on its latest Japan buyout vehicle - Unison Capital Partners IV(F) - of JPY45 billion ($428 million), with the fund expecting a final close of JPY75 billion.
Carlyle closes fourth Asia buyout fund at $3.9b
The Carlyle Group has reached a final close on its fourth Asian fund - Carlyle Asia Partners IV (CAP IV) - at $3.9 billion.
PE-backed China Auto Rental to raise $467m in HK IPO
China Auto Rental, a car hire firm backed by Warburg Pincus, has set terms for a Hong Kong IPO that will raise up to HK$3.62 billion ($467 million).
Foxconn invests $2m in Taiwan’s AirSig
Electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group has invested $2 million for a 10% stake in AirSig, a Taiwan-based mobile authentication start-up.
AVCJ daily bulletin returns September 10
There will be no AVCJ bulletin on September 9 due to a public holiday in Hong Kong marking the Mid-Autumn Festival.