News
China, India companies beat PE to Digital Domain assets
China’s Galloping Horse Film and India’s PE-backed Reliance MediaWorks have teamed up to acquire assets from Digital Domain Media Group, the distressed Hollywood special effects company, for $30.2 million. The Sino-Indian joint venture easily outmatched...
LeapFrog buys 15% of India’s Mahindra Insurance for $15m
LeapFrog Investments, a firm focusing on microinsurance for the world's poor, has bought a 15% stake in India’s Mahindra Insurance Brokers (MIBL), for INR804.1 million (nearly $15 million).
INCJ-led consortium may thwart KKR’s Renesas pledge
Japanese state-sponsored fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) has formed a consortium with several local companies, which is said to be mulling making an offer of more than JPY100 billion ($1.3 billion) for the unprofitable Tokyo-listed chipmaker,...
Wellington Partners leads $3.4m Series A for AyoxxA Biosystems
Wellington Partners Venture Capital has led a EUR2.6 million ($3.4 million) Series A round of financing in AyoxxA Biosystems, a biotech firm based in Singapore and Germany. The capital will provide AyoxxA with the resources to scale-up production of bead-based...
TA Associates acquires Hong Kong-based SpeedCast for $32m
TA Associates has completed the buyout of SpeedCast, a Hong Kong-based network and satellite communications service provider, from Asia Satellite Telecommunications for $32.2 million. Company management is also participating through ownership of a small...
Asia Alternatives’ Alexa Zhang joins Wilshire
Investment consultancy Wilshire Private Markets has appointed Alexa Zhang as managing director, with responsibility for the firm’s Hong Kong office. Zhang joins from fund-of-funds Asia Alternatives where she served as a director, focusing on Greater...
Indian regulator receives 20 applications for AIF approval
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has received 20 applications from fund managers for Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) status, the new regulatory classification designed to improve oversight of private equity, real estate and hedge fund...
Carlyle’s General Lighting completes Malaysia acquisition
General Lighting (GLC), a Saudi Arabia-based portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, has agreed to buy Davex, Malaysia’s largest lighting fixtures manufacturer and supplier, for MYR183 million ($60 million). The company sees the acquisition as a platform...
Indiareit raises $46m for India redevelopment fund
Indiareit Fund Advisors, a real estate investor backed by Indian entrepreneur Ajay Piramal, has raised INR2.5 billion ($46 million) for a fund targeting redevelopment projects in Mumbai. The firm expects to reach a final close of up to INR5 billion in...
Baker & McKenzie's global PE head to join King & Wood Mallesons - report
Baker & McKenzie’s global head of private equity, Mark McNamara, is reportedly leaving the firm to join King & Wood Mallesons in a similar role.
PE-backed M&A in Asia reaches $22b in first nine months
Private equity-backed M&A in Asia Pacific ex Japan reached $22.2 billion in the first nine months of 2012, down 17% year-on-year, according to Thomson Reuters. However, the third quarter was comparatively active, with total deals worth $11 billion, up...
Carlyle cautious on China prospects
William Conway, co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, has said the private equity firm is less confident about its prospects in China due to slowing economic growth and increased competition.
Headland names Raffini, Thompson as chairman and CEO
Headland Capital Partners has appointed George Raffini as chairman and Marcus Thompson as CEO. They were previously joint managing partners of the private equity firm, having led a spin out from HSBC in 2010.
Chinese bidder to buy PE-backed KraussMaffei – report
A Chinese machinery group is reportedly in exclusive talks with US-based Madison Capital to buy its German rival KraussMaffei Technologies. The deal - which is likely to fetch as much as EUR700 million ($908 million) - would be the latest in a string...
Fosun backs RHJ acquisition of Deutsche's BHF unit
China's Fosun Group is supporting RHJ International in its latest attempt to buy BHF, a leading German private bank, from Deutsche Bank. For Fosun, it represents an opportunity to secure a presence in the eurozone’s largest economy.
TPG’s Billabong rival abandons bid
TPG Capital’s rival bidder for Australian surfwear company Billabong International has dropped out of the running. Billabong only identified the group that offered to match TPG’s A$694 million ($709 million) buyout bid as a private equity firm. According...
Australian PE firm participates in $1b Dubai oil driller deal
Australian GP CHAMP Private Equity has teamed up with its US affiliate Castle Harlan and Lime Rock Partners to invest around $1.05 billion in Dubai-based shallow water drilling services company Shelf Drilling.
Indian Angel Network backs Mexican restaurant
Indian Angel Network (IAN), Asia’s largest business angel investor network, has invested in Poncho, a Mumbai-based Mexican quick service restaurant.
NVP injects another $5m in Appnomic Systems
Appnomic Systems, an Indian IT infrastructure management services company, has raised a $5 million Series C round from Norwest Venture Partners (NVP). The VC firm previously invested $4 million and $2.5 million in the company in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Japan’s DRC nets 1.5x return on Yumeshin exit
Mid-market Japanese GP DRC Capital has exited from its investment in Yumeshin Holdings, an outsourcing service provider in the construction industry, generating a 1.5x return and a gross IRR of 8.3%.
CVC’s Australia head resigns
CVC Capital Partners’ Adrian MacKenzie, the managing partner responsible for investments in Australia, has resigned. The move comes as the private equity firm prepares to write off almost the entire A$1.9 billion ($1.97 billion) in equity that was pumped...
PE firms, sovereign funds support Alibaba’s Yahoo buyback
China Investment Corporation (CIC), Boyu Capital, CITIC Capital and CDB Capital participated in a $3.9 billion equity issue by Alibaba Group alongside existing investors including Silver Lake, DST Global and Temasek Holdings. The financing was used to...
NSSF nears $3.6b private equity investments
The National Council for Social Security Fund (NSSF) announced that it had committed RMB22.6 billion ($3.6 billion) to 16 venture capital and private equity funds as of mid-September.
Carlyle names Robert Mancini co-head of infrastructure fund
The Carlyle Group has appointed Robert Mancini from Goldman Sachs as managing director and co-head of its global infrastructure fund. He will work alongside founding co-head Robert Dove and is expected to start the new role by year-end.