Official Record
CMIA seeks to work with China’s farmers
Investment in China's agricultural sector is not easy. While the central government is keen on reform and consolidation – with a long-term view to leveraging the economies of scale that characterize farming in the West – progress is held back by land...
Sequoia bets on India’s snack food potential
Indian snack food maker Prakash Snacks has secured its first round of private equity financing from Sequoia Capital, believed to be worth $25-30 million. Financial details were not disclosed, but local media reported that the Silicon Valley growth capital...
Harbin Electric MBO nears finish, despite critics
Harbin Electric's Chairman has won board approval for his privatization bid, bringing an eight-month saga that has featured several class-action lawsuits and unremitting attacks from short-sellers nearer to a close. The buyers – the chairman, other...
Carlyle’s diversifies its business ahead of IPO
The carlyle Group's purchase of a 55% stake in Emerging Sovereign Group (ESG) is its second acquisition in the asset management space within seven months and a clear indication of how the private equity wants to develop its business.
PE targets Australian healthcare
AT A TIME WHEN PROFITABLE EXITS in Australia are difficult to achieve due to the lingering effects of the global financial crisis, private equity firms continue to rely on healthcare for returns. This strategy received a ringing endorsement last week...
GSR backs China’s growing LED market
GSR Ventures, a Beijing- and Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, made its sixth investment in China’s LED industry last week, with a $10 million round of Series A financing for SunSun Lighting. The company wants to list within three years.
PE rides M&A wave in Indian security
Blackstone has been emerged as potential acquirer of Securitrans India, the cash management arm of security services provider APS group. According to local reports, a deal worth around INR150 crore ($33.6 million) has been put together for the Delhi-based...
MSPE Asia singles out Yongye as a value proposition
To Yongye International, a Chinese agricultural nutrients producer, Morgan Stanley Private Equity (MSPE) Asia is every bit the white knight. Under attack from short-sellers that had branded the company a fraud, Yongye’s stock was in trouble: it was...
PE sees exit multiples in India
India's private equity industry entered 2011 with high hopes that this would be a breakthrough year for exits and returns. Following a rash of sales over the past few months – culminating in Blackstone’s $630 million stake sale in Intelenet Global...
RHB battle highlights PE challenges in Malaysia
As private equity in China and India becomes overcrowded, driving up valuations, some funds have broadened their regional focus. Malaysia has generated particular interest, but recent developments suggest that the pickings are likely to be small.
Bird nests point to opportunities in Vietnam
Vietnam is becoming a popular destination for private equity as evidenced by KKR spending $159 million on a 10% stake in Masan Consumer Corporation as well as the government’s willingness to sell a 20% holding in Vietcombank to private investors. But...
Tokyo Star goes back to Lone Star
LONE STAR FUNDS IS ONCE AGAIN TAKING ownership of Tokyo Star Bank, less than four years after selling the struggling commercial lender to private equity firm Advantage Partners (AP). Having failed to repay its debts, AP has reportedly agreed to give away...
Korean PE buys global golf brand Acushnet
KOREAN SPORTSWEAR MAKER FILA HAS teamed with Seoul-based Mirae Asset Private Equity and two of the market’s top investment institutions to acquire golf equipment and apparel business Acushnet Company from NYSE-listed Fortune Brands for more than $1.2...
TPG and CNinsure CEO makes MBO bid
TPG CAPITAL WILL PARTNER WITH THE CEO of CNinsure in an effort to takeover the NASDAQ-listed Chinese insurance intermediary, which is party owned by local fund CDH Holdings. The private equity firm and Yinan Hu has offered a bid that represent a 44% premium...
CITIC PE closes debut USD fund on $990m
CITIC PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS Management (CITIC PE) has closed its debut US Dollar fund, CPEChina Fund, L.P., on $990 million of committed capital. The closing comes at a time when interest in China-focused funds, especially those denominated in RMB, are...
SWF group forms permanent secretariat
WITH AN INCREASING AMOUNT OF wealth being accumulated domestically, sovereign wealth funds are continuing their efforts to enlarge their exposures in the global markets. A group of them gathered together in Beijing earlier this month for the annual...
CVC ramps up focus on Filipino finance
CVC CAPITAL PARTNERS HAS MADE ITS first investment in the Philippines in more than a decade, taking a 15% stake in Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) – the market’s fifth-largest financial player by assets with aspirations of elevating its...
mCapital goes on the hunt for distressed assets
MCAPITAL, THE NEWLY LAUNCHED FIRM led by former Merrill Lynch executive Mark Devonshire, has completed the $74 million first close of its mCapital European & Asian Special Situations Fund, coming more than two years after its fundraising process began.
ChrysCapital finds a bargain in India’s NCC
CHRYSCAPITAL, WHICH CLAIMS TO BE India’s largest investor in the construction business, has taken an undisclosed minority stake in Blackstone-backed Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited (NCC).
KKR invests in Oz recycling company
KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS (KKR) HAS invested approximately A$90 million ($96.9 million) in Australia Stock Exchange-listed recycling group CMA Corporation.
J-Star looks to construction for its 12th deal
JAPANESE PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM J-STAR has taken a majority stake in Taiheiyo-Seiki Co. (THY), a privately held construction machinery manufacturer, marking J-Star’s second deal this year, following the investment into HCM, in-home care provider, and its...
Richard Ong’s RRJ Capital makes first deal
Hopu Fund co-founder Richard Ong has made his first investment from his $2 billion maiden fund, into US-focused oil exploratory and extraction firm Frac Tech Services - a seeming departure from his vehicle’s Asia Pacific mandate.
J-Star makes second healthcare acquisition
Japanese private equity firm J-Star has made another investment in Japan’s growing healthcare sector, taking a majority stake in HCM, KK, a domestic provider of in-home care services, via a management buyout. Financial details were not disclosed, but...
Unitas completes landmark Hyva deal
Asian private equity firm Unitas Capital has completed the acquisition of Hyva Holdings B.V. from Europe’s 3i, for an enterprise value of EUR525 million ($761.5 million). The acquisition was partly financed through a high yield bond, marking the first...