Chinese PE trio commit RMB330m to home-shopping

Hony Capital, CITIC Private Equity Funds Management and Sequoia Capital China have invested RMB330 million ($48.35 million, € 35.83 million) in HappiGo, the television shopping arm of Hunan’s Golden Eagle Broadcasting System. A source at CITIC PE confirmed the transaction.

No details on the breakdown of the investment, or the equity stake gained in the transaction, have been disclosed, although various media reports have stated that following the transaction Golden Eagle will remain the controlling shareholder and will continue the day-to-day running of HappiGo.

Beijing-based CITIC PE closed its debut fund in January on RMB9 billion ($1.3 billion; €940 million), making it the largest RMB-denominated fund ever raised. The firm has already made over 10 investments from the fund, which was launched in June 2008.

This is the second investment so far this year for Hony Capital, the private equity arm of state-backed conglomerate Legend Holdings, which in February bought an undisclosed number of convertible bonds from mall operator China Golden Development Holdings.

Meanwhile, Sequoia Capital China, the Chinese affiliate of the US venture firm, joined CITIC Capital and FountainVest Partners in a $180 million indirect financing round into Nasdaq-listed Chinese web-based service provider SINA at the end of November 2009.