Official Record
Hudson plans largest RMB clean energy fund
Renewable energy-focused buyout firm Hudson Clean Energy Partners is targeting China in a big way, announcing that it will raise the largest renminbi-denominated fund dedicated to green energy. The New Jersey-based firm did not disclose its targeted corpus,...
Innovation Works closes first fund
Tech incubator Innovation Works arose to fill a perceived void in the Chinese market – new business ideas were in abundance but there wasn’t enough capital to get them off the ground. Company founder Kai-fu Lee told AVCJ’s China summit in May that he...
PAG backing takes Funtalk China private
PAG Asia Capital's $250 million commitment to Funtalk China Holdings cements the fourth privatization of a US-listed Chinese firm in the space of five weeks. In total, six management teams – often backed by private equity – have closed buyout transactions...
TPG, Northstar in cross-investment deal
What does it say about the shifting sands in private equity when an Asian GP is able to get a stake in a global buyout firm? Indonesia-based Northstar Pacific has achieved just that through a cross-investment deal with TPG. The US firm will take 10-20%...
Permira hits jackpot with Galaxy
Permira's casino gamble seems to have paid off in Macau. The UK-based private equity firm divested approximately 6.5% of its stake in Macau casino and entertainment operator Galaxy Entertainment Group for HK$4.8 billion ($614 million), selling 270 million...
Whitehaven's PE backers make partial exit
Three months after Australian miner Whitehaven Coal called off its auction process, the company’s two largest shareholders cut back their interest. First Reserve Corp. and AMCI International on August 31 sold 65 million shares for A$390 million ($416...
China Life to launch PE vehicle
China Life has become the first Chinese insurance company to be granted a license by domestic regulators to raise private equity and real estate funds. Under rules published by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) last September, insurers...
Bain buys MYOB as markets sink Sage bid
Recent turbulence in the global markets did private equity a favor last week as Bain Capital emerged as the unlikely victor in the auction for Australian accounting software firm MYOB. Bain and KKR had for several weeks been regarded as the frontrunners...
Carlyle backs Indian affordable housing firm
The Carlyle Group's $26 million commitment to Value & Budget Housing Corporation (VBHC) last week is significant in that it marks the affordable housing developer’s graduation to the investment mainstream. The company was founded in 2009 by what Shankar...
Hahn & Company closes first fund
Hahn & Company, the South Korea-focused private equity firm founded by Scott Hahn, formerly Morgan Stanley Private Equity (MSPE) Asia’s (MSPEA) chief investment officer, has recorded a final close on its first fund, reaching the hard cap of $750 million....
Bright Food finally seals overseas acquisition
China's Bright Food Group is set to acquire a 75% stake in CHAMP Private Equity-controlled Manassen Foods, finally making a breakthrough in its long-held but often thwarted ambitions to take a significant step into overseas markets. The parties did not...
PEP, Unitas exit Independent Liquor to Asahi
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) and Unitas Capital last week agreed to sell New Zealand beverage firm Independent Liquor to Japan’s Asahi Group for NZ$1.525 billion ($1.27 billion). The private equity firms secured a 1.5x return on their original NZ$1.2...
Funds back India's rising cleantech sector
IDFC Private Equity and International Finance Corp. (IFC), the World Bank’s investment arm, reaffirmed their commitment to India’s clean energy sector in two separate deals announced last week. The transactions come a few weeks after a UN Environment...
Covalent partial-exit marks end of an era
The name Toshiba Ceramics is firmly rooted in the golden age of Japanese private equity. In 2006, The Carlyle Group and Unison Capital bought the company from Toshiba Group for JPY91 billion ($774 million at the time) in what was one of the most expensive...
Mandolin Fund backs trouble-hit Sino-Forest
On June 2, short-seller research firm Muddy Waters branded Chinese timber firm Sino-Forest a fraud, prompting a 71% drop in the firm’s stock within 48 hours. Paulson & Co. cut and ran three weeks later. The hedge fund was said to have owned nearly 35...
HNA targets global transport platform
Chinese Transportation conglomerate HNA Group, with its private equity partner Bravia Capital, last week completed back-to-back investments intended to strengthen its presence both in China and abroad – acquiring leading global container leasing business...
Carlyle completes third CPIC sell-down
The Carlyle Group remains on courpse for one of its biggest cash exits globally after making a third sell-down in China Pacific Insurance (CPIC) in the space of seven months. The private equity firm is believed to have raised around $990 million in its...
L Capital's fashion-forward India play
L Capital Asia, the private equity investor of luxury goods group LVMH, last week purchased a 25.5% stake in New Delhi-based Genesis Luxury Fashion, making its maiden investment in India.
Blackstone closes in on third India power deal
In August 2010, Akhil Gupta, chairman and managing director of Blackstone India, said the private equity firm “would not hesitate” to invest $1 billion in the country’s power sector if attractive deals presented themselves.
Hony makes first foray into Japan
Hony Capital secured two significant firsts with its purchase of a 20% stake in Tokyo-listed hotel chain operator and real estate business Tokai Kanko for JPY1.4 billion ($17.8 million).
Lone Star exits Tokyo retail property to Hulic
Lone Star's sale of YODOBASHI MULTI Media Kichijoji, a commercial complex building in a west Tokyo suburb, to real estate investment firm Hulic is no ordinary transaction. Hulic is paying an estimated JPY30 billion ($381 million) for the asset but is...
Collins rescues Angus & Robertson
Book, Entertainment and Stationary vender REDGroup Retail is a blot on Australia’s private equity landscape. With Collins Booksellers agreeing to buy a number of its bankrupt rival’s Angus & Robertson (A&R) franchises, perhaps the blot can finally be...
Temasek eases exposure to Chinese banks
The timing of Temasek's sell-down of a partial stakes in Bank of China and China Construction Bank certainly raised eyebrows. Singapore’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund made its move hours after Moody’s warned that the scale of local government...
Nestle tables $1.7b offer for Hsu Fu Chi
A fund advised by Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) stands to make a substantial gain on its investment in Chinese confectionary company Hsu Fu Chi after Nestle tabled an offer of $1.7 billion for a 60% stake in the company. The size of the deal, which...