Official Record
Fund focus: Carlyle stokes Japan bullishness
Expecting to see a surge in deal flow driven by divestments and succession planning situations, The Carlyle Group has bulked up to $2.3 billion for its latest Japan fund
Deal focus: Carlyle's SBI Cards bet pays out
The Carlyle Group achieved an 8x return through a partial exit via SBI Cards’ IPO. The private equity firm still holds a 16% stake and is a resolute believer in the growth potential of India’s credit card market
Deal focus: Vivriti aims to bring debt online
India's private debt markets lack coordination and standardization. Vivriti Capital hopes to fix this by bringing issuance online. LGT Lightstone Aspada has provided $50 million in support of this effort
Fund focus: 8F reels in $358m
Singapore's 8F Asset Management is taking sector specialization to a new level with a $358 million fund that focuses exclusively on salmon aquaculture projects
Fund focus: Quona doubles down on financial inclusion
Financial technology player Quona's $203 million second fund is expected to feature more early-stage rounds, more 'adjacency' plays in previously inaccessible segments, and more start-ups outside of India and Indonesia
AVCJ Awards 2019: Operational Value Add: EuroKids International
Gaja Capital put its India buyout philosophy to the test with EuroKids International in 2013. Operational improvements – and a lucrative exit – have vindicated the approach
Deal focus: Neolix finds its self-driving niche
Unable to achieve the cost-effectiveness of America's driverless grocery delivery services in China, Neolix refocused on transporting meals. Investor Yunqi Partners believes simple solutions mean quicker commercialization
Deal focus: Spinny aims to be more than a marketplace
Spinny - alongside industry peer Truebil - has taken the used car sales model that works for Carvana in the US and applied it to India. Combining online reach with offline legitimacy is the key
Deal focus: 51CTO’s prescient training pivot
Chinese IT platform 51CTO switched from online media to online training five years ago and hasn't looked back. With $20 million in Series C funding, the company wants to sustain its rise
Fund focus: Monk’s Hill rides SE Asia momentum
Southeast Asia is divided by language, culture and economic systems, but Kuo-Yi Lim of Monk's Hill Ventures contends there is now enough evidence that start-ups can go cross-border and achieve meaningful scale
Fund focus: Quadria's health check
Having raised $595 million for its second healthcare fund, Singapore-headquartered Quadria Capital has a bulky war-chest for investments in fast-growing companies in India and Southeast Asia
Deal focus: UTEC positions Tricog for Japan expansion
University of Tokyo Edge Capital built an unusual bridge between the start-up worlds of Japan and India when backed Tricog's artificial intelligence-enabled healthcare solution
Deal focus: Linctex makes SaaS pay in China
Vision Plus Capital identified Linctex after conducting a deep dive into China's textile industry supply chain. It believes the company has the right model - and is in the right industry - to make software-as-a-service work
Fund focus: CMC widens its sweet spot
Having grown its assets under management to $2.5 billion following the close of Fund III, China's CMC Captial Group wants to be seen as more than just a media sector specialist
Fund focus: I-nest targets lifestyle technologies
Rather than addressing the healthcare opportunities created by Japan's changing demographic base, I-nest Capital is focusing on lifestyle and entertainment needs of an aging population
Deal focus: Vogo pursues transformation on two wheels
Vogo and Bounce are both scooter rental start-ups targeting the Indian market, but they are going about it in very different ways. Lightstone Aspada is backing the former's more inclusive approach
Deal focus: WayCool Foods pursues scale
WayCool Foods receives $32 million in funding to support an expansion of its agricultural technology proposition that removes middlemen - and boosts efficiency - in food supply chains
AVCJ Awards 2019: Exit of the Year - Large Cap: KCF Technologies
Recognizing strong demand trends for electric vehicle batteries, KKR turned around KCF Technologies within two years before exiting the Korean business with a 6.5x return
Deal focus: Carlyle sells its golden goose
Having prioritized Asian expansion and high-end direct retail operations, Carlyle completed its exit from European sneaker brand Golden Goose with a more than 3x return
Deal focus: India's WayCool in fresh approach
A $32.9 million equity and debt investment is unusually large for an Indian agricultural technology start-up.
Deal focus: Circles.Life strives to be different
Circles.Life wants to think bigger, and broader, about its telecom offering than competing mobile virtual network operators in Asia. A $75 million investment from Warburg Pincus will fuel these ambitions
Deal focus: Brookfield lends a helping hand
Brookfield Asset Management chose IndoStar Capital Finance as its way into India’s private lending space, putting faith in the non-banking finance company’s ability to diversify its business streams
Deal focus: Booktopia prepares for build-out
What was just a side business has become a successful one.
Deal focus: Counterintuition pays off for NSSK
Japanese mid-market buyout firm NSSK has executed a partial exit of Vati, a small but strong performer in the country’s competitive nursing care space