East Asia

Baring Asia raises $490m in new fund that eyes Japan

Baring Private Equity Asia has raised $490 million in a new Asia-focused fund that will be seeking opportunities in Japan for the first time, founding partner and chief executive officer, Jean Eric Salata tells PEO.

From Chicago to China

Benjamin Fanger and Xiaolin Zhang met as MBA students at the University of Chicago. They’re now scouring the NPL portfolios of China for value investments. By Aaron Lovell.

Warburg Pincus secures syndicate loan for China buyout

Warburg Pincus and a Chinese investor have secured a syndicated loan to acquire Shandong Deosen Corp, a producer of food additive in China, in a rare leverage buyout in that market.

London Asia’s China-based investee companies to list on PLUS

Two investee companies of London Asia, a China-focused investment and merchant bank, will begin trading on UK’s PLUS Markets, a trading platform for shares of small to mid-cap companies.

WL Ross & Co buys two car parts suppliers for $305m

US turnaround specialist has bought two automotive suppliers – one German, the other Japanese – for $305 million as US billionaire Wilbur Ross continues to extend his global exposure in the sector.

CITIC Capital sponsors buyout of Japanese tableware maker

The private equity arm of CITIC Capital, which is part of China’s largest financial group, is leading the buyout of Narumi China Corp, a Japanese branded tableware company.

Asia pioneer

Emerging markets specialist Aureos Capital is continuing its march into new markets for Asian private equity, with the firm honing in on Bangladesh for its latest endeavour. By Judy Kuan.

Private equity takes bite of Cheddar’s

Private equity firms Catterton Partners and Oak Investment Partners bought Texas restaurant chain Cheddar’s from Brazos Private Equity Partners.

MBK in billion-dollar race for Taiwan’s China Network Systems

MBK Partners, a North Asia-focused private equity manager, is competing with Goldman Sachs, Carlyle and KKR for Taiwan’s top cable TV operator in a transaction estimated to fetch about $1.4 billion.

First Reserve closes $7.8bn energy fund

First Reserve, which recently opened offices in Asia, has announced the closing of the largest energy-specific global fund ever raised, at $7.8bn. CEO Bill Macaulay told <em>PEO</em> that investor demand could have made the fund "much larger."