GPCA covers the latest fund, investment and industry news across our markets in two newsletters: NewsWatch is a weekly round-up of key transactions across asset classes; the Global Tech Brief is a bi-weekly review of tech transactions and innovations with cross-border applications. Subscribe in the left-hand sidebar.

Access past editions of NewsWatch here.

HAO Capital Sells Shares in PAX Global Technology for US$44 Million (Asia)

China-focused private equity firm HAO Capital has sold its remaining 7.6 percent stake in Hong Kong-listed PAX Global Technology, an electronic fund transfer point-of-sale terminal supplier, for US$44 million. HAO’s realized proceeds total US$142 million on an original investment of US$30 million, bringing the gross multiple for the entire investment to a reported 4.7x. HAO, which first invested in the… Read More

Duet Group and Its Partners Invest US$50 Million in Two Consumer Companies in Ghana (Sub-Saharan Africa)

Alternative asset management firm Duet Group, through the creation of Duet Consumer West Africa Holdings (DCWA), has invested US$50 million to take controlling stakes in two Ghana-based companies: Shop N Save, a supermarket joint-venture with the founders of raw and processed agri-commodities distributor Finatrade Group, and GNFoods, a food manufacturing company. The new funding for these two companies will be… Read More

Kinea Investimentos to Buy a 20 Percent Stake in Clothing Store Lojas Avenida (Latin America)

Alternative investment management firm Kinea Investimentos has agreed to purchase a 20 percent stake in Brazil-based clothing store Lojas Avenida for BRL200 million (approximately US$84.5 million). Kinea has the option to double this stake within five years. Lojas Avenida operates 105 stores in various Brazilian cities and intends to use the capital injection to open 30 stores in 2014. The… Read More

L Capital Asia Buys a 51 Percent Stake in Restaurant and Club Operator Ku Dé Ta Group (Asia)

Private equity firm L Capital Asia, which is backed by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has acquired a majority stake in restaurant, club and lounge operator Ku Dé Ta Group, best known for its location in Singapore. The company, which recently opened a new location in Thailand and has secured venues in Hong Kong and France, intends to use the… Read More

Hamilton Lane Holds Final Close on First Brazil-dedicated Fund of Funds (Latin America)

Global private markets asset management firm Hamilton Lane has reached a final close on its Brazil-dedicated fund of funds, HL Brazil FIQFIP, with BRL150 million (approximately US$63.7 million) in capital commitments. Investors in the fund include Brazilian pension funds, multi-family offices and financial institutions. At the time of closing, the fund had already committed nearly BRL55.8 million (approximately US$23.7 million)… Read More

Emerging Capital Partners Invests in Atlas Bottling Corporation (MENA)

Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), a private equity firm focused on growth capital investing in Africa, has acquired a 33 percent stake in Atlas Bottling Corporation (ABC), the PepsiCo bottler of carbonated soft drinks in Algeria, as part of a US$80 million investment plan. The transaction involved a mix of growth equity provided by ECP and debt from commercial banks. ABC… Read More

Kinnevik Leads US$90 Million Financing Round for Quikr with Participation from Warburg Pincus and Other Existing Investors (Asia)

Quikr Mauritius Holding, which runs India-based classifieds website Quikr.com, has raised a US$90 million financing round led by Swedish investment firm Investment Kinnevik. The firm contributed US$39.3 million to the transaction, with the rest coming from Quikr’s existing investors, including private equity firms Warburg Pincus, Matrix Partners India and Norwest Venture Partners, along with commerce and payments company eBay, investment… Read More

Templeton Reaches Final Close on Fourth Emerging Markets-dedicated Fund (Global)

Templeton Asset Management, a financial services subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments, has reached a final close on its latest emerging markets fund, Templeton Strategic Emerging Markets Fund IV, with more than US$220 million in capital commitments. The vehicle, which launched in March 2012 with a target of US$300 million, will focus on supporting growth in small- to medium-sized companies across… Read More

E-House Holdings Forms Joint Venture with Yunfeng Capital, Sequoia Capital China and SINA Corporation (Asia)

Private equity firms Sequoia Capital China and Yunfeng Capital and China-based media company SINA Corporation have agreed to establish a joint venture with New York Stock Exchange-listed E-House Holdings, a China-based real estate services company, to launch a real estate-oriented financial services platform. The joint venture will leverage E-House's home buyer data and SINA's online users to launch a series… Read More

Northgate Capital Acquires a Minority Stake in HDS (Latin America)

Global private equity fund manager Northgate Capital has acquired a minority stake in Mexico-based healthcare information technology provider Health Digital Systems (HDS), injecting up to US$25 million in the company. HDS intends to use the fresh capital to develop software products and business expansion. Other shareholders in the company include Mexican development bank Nacional Financiera and Mexico-focused private equity fund… Read More

Pearl Capital Partners Invests KES200 Million in Eldoville Dairies (Sub-Saharan Africa)

Pearl Capital Partners, an East Africa-focused agriculture investment firm, has acquired a minority stake in Kenya-based dairy processing company Eldoville Dairies for KES200 million (approximately US$2.3 million). The transaction was structured through Pearl Capital Partners’ African Agricultural Capital Fund. Eldoville produces yogurts, cheeses, butter and cream, and intends to use the fresh financing to establish a milk processing facility, strengthen… Read More

EFG Hermes Sells a 19 Percent Stake in Damas International to Mannai Corporation for US$150 Million (MENA)

The private equity arm of Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes has sold a 19 percent stake in United Arab Emirates-based jeweler Damas International to Qatar-based trade and services conglomerate Mannai Corporation for US$150 million. EFG Hermes and Mannai had acquired Damas in a transaction worth US$445 million in May 2012, of which EFG Hermes contributed US$85 million, delisting the company… Read More