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Brazil Potash Corp. Completes US$58 Million Capital Raising (Latin America)
Brazil Potash Corp. (BPC), a Belo Horizonte-based mining company, has completed a US$58.7 million financing round led by U.K.-based global private equity firm CD Capital, which committed US$24.6 million through its CD Capital Natural Resources Fund II. BPC plans to use the new capital to continue exploration for potash at its project site in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Read More
Fidelity Ventures Leads Investment in Pod Inns (Asia)
Fidelity Growth Partners Asia, the venture capital and private equity arm of Fidelity focused on investing in Greater China, has led an investment of roughly US$50 million in Pod Inns, a Hangzhou-based budget hotel chain. China-based venture capital investors Legend Capital and Jianxin Capital, U.S.-based Morgan Creek Capital Management and KTB of South Korea also participated in the financing round,… Read More
CVCI Boosts Wuttisak with US$100 Million (Asia)
Global emerging markets private equity investor CVCI Private Equity has acquired 30 percent of Wuttisak Clinic Inter Group, a Thailand-based provider of health and beauty services, in partnership with local private equity manager Thai Strategic Capital. Wuttisak has over 100 clinics in Thailand and plans to expand its operations to neighboring Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The transaction is valued at… Read More
First Carlyle Ventures Invests INR600 Million in South Indian Bank (Asia)
First Carlyle Ventures, an Asia-focused growth capital affiliate of The Carlyle Group, has bought 22.6 million shares of South Indian Bank, representing a 2 percent stake in the company, on the Bombay Stock Exchange at a price of INR26.5 per share, resulting in a total investment of INR559.4 million (approximately US$10.7 million). South Indian Bank is a Kerala-based provider of… Read More
Aiyaya Obtains RMB100 Million Investment from Fortune Venture Capital (Asia)
Fortune Venture Capital, a China-based venture capital firm, has invested RMB100 million (US$15.8 million) in Aiyaya, a local women’s accessories manufacturer and retailer. Aiyaya plans to use the financing to expand e-commerce and logistics operations, with the goal of a public listing in 2013. Read More
CDC Launches Ethiopia Private Equity Fund (Sub-Saharan Africa)
CDC, the U.K.’s development finance institution, has announced a cornerstone investment of US$15 million in the Schulze Global Ethiopia Growth and Transformation Fund I. The fund has a target of US$100 million and will seek to invest between US$1 million and US$10 million per transaction in small- and mid-size Ethiopian companies operating in a range of sectors. The fund will… Read More
Peninsula Investments Group’s Second Fund Closes at US$76 Million (Latin America)
Peninsula Investments Group, a U.S.-based asset management firm focused on Latin American real estate, has closed its second fund with US$76 million in total commitments. Peninsula Investments Group II, which is already 50 percent committed, invests in middle-income residential development projects in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay. The fund received commitments from a diverse group of institutional investors,… Read More
Keystone EP, HBS Partner to Produce White Paper on Operational Value Creation in MENA Private Equity (MENA)
For a third consecutive year, Keystone (the General Manager of GrowthGate) has published a white paper that is the collective work of: (i) Harvard Business School (HBS) faculty members (MBA – Class 2012), (ii) Prof. Josh Lerner of HBS and one of the leading authorities on Private Equity (PE) in the US; and (iii) members of Keystone’s combined investment advisory… Read More
Emerging Capital Partners Announces Investment into Nairobi Java House (Sub-Saharan Africa)
Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), a U.S.-based pan-African private equity manager, has invested in Nairobi Java House, a Kenyan café and restaurant operator. ECP, which also announced the opening of a new office in Nairobi, made the investment through its latest fund, ECP Africa Fund III. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read More
BTG Pactual Buys Minority Stake in Brazil’s Leader (Latin America)
Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual’s private equity fund, BTG Pactual Principal Investments FIP, and BTG Pactual subsidiary holding company, BTG Investments LP, have reached an agreement to acquire 42.3 percent of Leader Participações for BRL665 million (approximately US$333 million), through a combined purchase of existing equity and new shares. Leader is an apparel and household goods retailer based in Brazil.… Read More
GP Investments to Sell Fogo de Chão (Latin America)
GP Investments, an alternative asset investment firm in Latin America, has reached an agreement to sell 100 percent of FC Holdings, the holding company for Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão Churrascaria, to U.S.-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners for an enterprise value of US$400 million. In partnership with co-investors, GP Investments acquired a 35 percent stake in Fogo… Read More
DEG Co-finances Ethiopian Brewery (Sub-Saharan Africa)
DEG (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft), the development finance arm of Germany’s KfW Bankengruppe, has partnered with London-based Duet Group and U.S.-based Vasari Group to invest US$90 million in Dashen Brewery of Ethiopia. DEG will provide US$12.5 million of its own capital as part of the deal. Dashen, which produces local brands “Dashen” and “Royal,” will use the funds to expand… Read More