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Asia Private Equity Weekly News, September 2, 2013
HONG KONG, September 2 (Reuters) - News and developments in Asia private equity from Reuters News for the week ending August 30.
AUGUST 30
AUSTRALIA AND New Zealand's initial public offering market is set to return to levels not seen since the global financial crisis almost killed it stone-dead, with listings expected to rise five-fold this year compared to 2012.
AUGUST 29
U.S. BUYOUTS firm Carlyle Group said it would invest around $200 million with U.S. investment management firm Townsend Group to buy and build 17 warehouses as part of plans to build a logistics platform across China.
AUGUST 28
PRIVATE-EQUITY bidders KKR & Co LP and TPG Capital were dropped from the auction for Hutchison Whampoa (HKSE: 0013.HK - news) Ltd's Hong Kong supermarket chain ParknShop amid signs strategic buyers like China Resources Enterprise (HKSE: 0291.HK - news) (CRE) had the upper hand in a sale expected to fetch between $3-4 billion.
CHINA'S SIMCERE Pharmaceutical Group has agreed to be taken private for about $495 million by a consortium including Hony Capital.
APOLLO GLOBAL Management LLC has drawn $8.4 billion in commitments for its latest flagship fund, Apollo Investment Fund VIII LP, suggesting the era of private equity mega-funds is far from over.
AUGUST 27
BRITAIN'S LLOYDS Banking Group has agreed to sell a A$371 million ($335.74 million) portfolio of loan assets from its Australian unit BOS International Australia to Bain Capital (OTC BB: CGHC - news) 's Sankaty Advisors for an undisclosed price, a Sankaty spokesman said in a statement.
AUSTRALIA'S BILLABONG International Ltd said it would conclude a refinancing deal within weeks as its annual net loss more than tripled and sales of its surf and streetware continued to decline in key markets including the United States.
RELIANCE COMMUNICATIONS Ltd (BSE: RCOM.BO - news) 's talks with potential partners for selling a stake in a unit that includes its undersea cable assets are in progress, Chairman Anil Ambani told shareholders.
BAIN CAPITAL-backed China appliance retailer GOME Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd has swung into the black with a first half net profit of 322 million yuan ($52.6 million).
ALVAREZ & MARSAL has relocated Keith Williamson to Hong Kong to lead its forensic and dispute team in Asia, due to rising demand for investigative accounting experience across Asia. Williamson specialises in investigations into fraud, corruption and regulatory issues. ()
AUGUST 26
TPG HAS agreed to invest $108.6 million in US-listed Chinese real estate developer Xinyuan Real Estate Co Ltd, in a combination of convertible notes and common shares. If completed, TPG will hold about 20 percent of the company on a fully diluted basis.
ING GROEP (NYSE: IDG - news) edged closer to completing its year-and-a-half-old Asia divestment plan after private equity firm MBK Partners agreed to buy its South Korean insurance unit for total cash proceeds of 1.84 trillion won ($1.65 billion).
FOOD PRODUCER China Minzhong Food Corp Ltd became the first Singapore-listed Chinese firm to come under attack by a short-seller, which wiped off more than 50 percent of its market value in two hours and triggered a trading halt.
INDONESIA'S BIGGEST private hospital operator, PT Siloam International Hospitals, reduced its initial public offering size to 1.48 trillion rupiah ($133 million) from 2.3 trillion on next month's listing, an IFR report said.
