Official Record
LPs buy into SSG’s special sits story
Direct lending has gained traction among PE investors in Asia who see an opportunity to meet the capital needs of small businesses that are unable to tap conventional sources of financing. SSG Capital is keen to differentiate itself from the mainstream.
TPG looks up after bumpy fundraise
The fundraising process for TPG Asia VI was not smooth. More than two-and-a-half years in the market, a reduced target, changes in senior management, and churn within the China team prompting questions about the PE firm’s ability to cover what is arguably...
Qihoo buys MediaV to market online
Antivirus software developer Qihoo360 Technology isn't the first strategic investor to hold talks with MediaV. Several Chinese internet giants, including Tencent Holdings and online retailer JD.com, had pitched the advertising and digital marketing firm...
VCs back iYogi's Spanish strategy
Bearing in mind Spanish has the second- largest number of native speakers in the world - 410 million - after Mandarin, it is little wonder that many businesses see the value in learning the language. India-based technology support services provider iYogi...
CVC hits hard cap for Asia
Three of the last four investments in CVC Capital Partners' third pan-Asian fund were China control deals, and two of them involved restaurants. The Fund IV portfolio will be more diversified - encompassing retail, healthcare and financial services as...
Small still beautiful for Riverside
The story of private equity in Asia is largely one of rising fund sizes and ever larger equity checks. The Riverside Company plans on staying small - a segment it has occupied globally for over 25 years. The mid-market buyout player sees a huge opportunity...
KV Asia in Singapore aged care buyout
One in every three people in Singapore will be aged 65-plus by 2050, based on current birth rates and without an influx of youthful migrants. The country’s median age will rise to 55, up from the current level of 39. Just over the next seven years,...
Denham mines Pembroke talent
When Barry Tudor stepped down as CEO of listed mining firm Gloucester Coal in 2012, he left behind quite a legacy. Tudor and his team shepherded the firm through a number of high-profile acquisitions – including that of Australia’s Middlemount Project...
WM Partners in debut secondary deal
When Moriyoshi Matsumoto spun out from JAIC to form WM Partners (WMP) last year it was with a view to targeting a very specific need.
Actis seeks cookie fortune
Despite having an established brand name and a history that goes back over half a century, biscuit maker Jiashili has a battle on its hands. Like other Chinese snack producers, the company faces competition not only from domestic rivals but also from...
Insight breaks records with Campaign Monitor
When you consider the sheer scale of the opportunity, it is perhaps no surprise to learn that Australia's largest-ever tech VC investment to date - which took place earlier this month - involved a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company.
Warburg supports Liepin's O2O expansion
Emboldened by a $70 million Series C round of funding led by Warburg Pincus, differentiation is now Liepin.com's top priority. The Chinese online recruitment services provider must set itself apart from rivals such as NASDAQ-listed 51job and Zhaopin.com.
J-Star's Kugami deal fits the mold
If anything is to be learnt from J-Star's acquisition of Japanese plastic-molded auto parts maker Kugami, it is that when one door closes another opens.
IMAX serves as real estate proxy
The new century global center in Chengdu, Sichuan province, is the world’s largest freestanding building, nearly three times the size of The Pentagon. The 1.76-million-square-meter facility includes offices, shopping malls, a Mediterranean village and...
Lightspeed bets on financial disruption
Regulation is the primary concern for PE and VC firms considering investments in China’s peer-to-peer (P2P) lending industry. The market opportunity has never really been in doubt. Online P2P lending platforms are a bridge between individual lenders...
Vision Knight’s institutional upgrade
A mark of a successful first fund is increasing interest from institutional investors in its successor.
Rabo Equity’s India nutrition play
Valued at around INR720 billion ($11.9 billion), India’s pharmaceutical market continues to be a popular destination with private equity investors, but the sector has seen better days. A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers shows a tightening regulatory...
Blue Star on consolidation path
It is difficult to capture the scale of Australia’s printing industry given the amount of activity that takes place outside of the traditional silos. The data points highlighted by the national industry association, however, do not make for comforting...
Siguler Guff closes third BRIC fund
Siguler Guff faced two particular challenges when raising its third BRIC opportunities fund: one foreseen and well prepared for; the other more out of leftfield.
Cathay forges Sino-French ties
It is 50 years since France became one of the first European countries to officially recognize the People’s Republic of China. The anniversary of that event was marked in Paris last month by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Francois...
ChrysCapital in cross-border IT play
LiquidHub might be described as characteristic of all ChrysCapital’s investments in the IT segment, yet at the same time the US and India-based digital consultancy represents the complete reverse of any other deal the PE firm has done.
LanzaTech forms Asian alliance
LanzaTech is a classic example of how a disruptive technology can attract investors from different geographies. Originally from New Zealand, the company has developed a technology for converting carbon dioxide into fuel and chemical products. This kind...
ClearVue keeps it fresh with Fruitday
“Surprisingly, the price of imported fruit is not necessary always more expensive than local fruit,” observes Harry Hui, managing partner of ClearVue Partners. “The reason is that in developed countries, the agricultural productivity is higher than...
EQT scans I-Med opportunity
When EQT made its first move to acquire Australian radiology provider I-Med, the first challenge was to build trust with the company’s management. The business had already been through a number of financial investors’ hands and it had not been an...