News
Lunar Capital enters partnership with Pinco Pallino
Lunar Capital has entered into a partnership with Italian children's fashion brand "I Pinco Pallino" to expand its presence in China and East Asia. Under the agreement, Lunar and Pinco Pallino, which is owned by Italian private equity firm Opera, plan...
Orchid-backed Time Watch raises $105m in Hong Kong IPO
Time Watch Investments has raised HK$810 million ($105 million) in its Hong Kong IPO after pricing shares at the top end of the indicative range. Orchid Asia participated as a cornerstone investor, taking just over one quarter of the 600 million shares...
SFERS hires New York State Common's Art Wang
San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS) has appointed Art Wang as managing director for private markets, with responsibility for private equity, real estate and real assets. He joins from New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) where...
Lightspeed closes debut China fund at $168m
Lightspeed China Partners has reached a final close of $168 million on its debut China fund, exceeding the target size of $150 million. The fund, which includes an affiliated co-investment vehicle, will target early-stage investments in the internet,...
Hahn & Co to buy Korea Line via bankrupcty process
Hahn & Co. has been selected by a bankruptcy court as the preferred bidder for a 50% controlling stake in Korea Line, South Korea’s fourth-largest shipping company. The enterprise value of the transaction is KRW1.1 trillion ($1 billion), with Hahn & Co....
Goldman Sachs completes another partial exit from ICBC
Goldman Sachs has completed another partial exit from its holding in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), selling $1 billion worth of H-shares. The investment bank's merchant banking division has offloaded ICBC shares at least four times prior...
CDH to reach $1b first close on Fund V by February
CDH Investments is expected to reach a first close of $1 billion on its latest fund by Chinese New Year. The Chinese GP has an overall target of $2 billion for CDH Fund V, which launched in September 2012.
PSERS to invest in Morgan Stanley PE Asia's fourth fund
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA) has received a commitment of up to $100 million for its fourth fund from Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS). The pension system previously invested in global funds launched by Morgan...
Commonfund promotes Beijing office head
Commonfund Capital has promoted Leenong Li, head of its Beijing office and wider Asian initiatives, to managing director. He joined the firm in 2010, having previously spent five years as managing director of Jerusalem Venture Partners’ Shanghai office...
Baird rebrands PE operations as Baird Capital
The private equity operations of Robert W. Baird & Co. have been consolidated under a single brand – Baird Capital.
IL&FS Private Equity invests $33m in real estate in third quarter
IL&FS Investment Managers (IIML), the India's largest private equity firm by assets under management, invested INR1.8 billion ($33 million) in real estate during the quarter ended December 2012. It also recorded exits worth INR2.45 billion across private...
BlackRock appoints head of alternatives for North Asia
BlackRock has appointed Jeong Hoon Lee as head of its alternative investment strategy group for North Asia.
OTPP in running for Leighton asset – report
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), Canada’s third-largest pension fund, is reportedly among the final bidders for NextGen, the fibre-optics business being sold by Australian contractor Leighton Holdings. The deal could be worth as much as A$870 million...
PE-backed Chinese baby skincare brand bought by Johnson & Johnson
Private equity-backed Shanghai Elsker Mother & Baby, a Chinese manufacturer of natural baby skincare products, has been acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed but the price is said to be around RMB650 million ($104...
Japan's Aeon eyes CVC's Matahari - report
Japan's Aeon Group and a unit of Thailand's Central Group are said to be eyeing CVC Capital Partners-owned Indonesian retail group Matahari Department Store.
Softbank Ventures Korea invests $1.4m in KnowRE
Softbank Ventures Korea (SBVK), the venture capital unit of Japan's Softbank Corporation, has invested $1.4 million in KnowRe, an education technology company specializing in adaptive online learning services.
IFC raises $280m for global climate change fund-of-funds
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, has received $280 million from the governments of Canada and the UK and Azerbaijan’s sovereign wealth fund for its climate change fund-of-funds.
PE firms compete for Everstone's stake in VLCC – report
Several global and regional private equity firms are reportedly in the hunt for Everstone Capital’s 16% interest in Indian health and beauty treatment specialist VLCC.
China Media Capital forms partnership with The Raine Group
China Media Capital (CMC) has formed a strategic partnership with The Raine Group, a global merchant bank focused on entertainment, digital media and sports.
Creador completes Indonesia food carve-out
Creador headed off an auction process to complete a carve-out of Indonesian cereals and snack foods producer Simba Indosnack Makmur from India’s Godrej Consumer Products.
TPG-backed Li Ning to issue $241m in convertible securities
Li Ning, the Chinese sportswear retailer backed by Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and TPG Capital, saw its stock drop 13.8% to HK$5.35 in Friday morning trading after announcing a plans to raise as much as HK$1.87 billion ($241 million)...
Kaizen, Bertelsmann invest in online education firm
Kaizen, an education-focused Indian private equity firm, has led a $4 million Series B round investment in Educomp Solution's subsidiary authorGen, which produces online education platform WizIQ. German global media company Bertelsmann has also participated...
Blackstone buys China land parcel for $482m - report
The Blackstone Group has reportedly invested more than RMB3 billion ($482 million) for 600,000 square meters of land in China's Jiangsu province. The deal was finalized in October and has received approval from the Ministry of Commerce.
Asia PE fundraising drops by one third to $46.8b in 2012
Private equity fundraising in Asia Pacific slumped by more than one third to $46.8 billion in 2012 from $72.9 billion a year ago as capital committed to China-focused vehicles dropped off markedly over the course of the year. It is the lowest annual total...