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Virgin Mobile Latin American Secures New Funding and New Investors for Expansion (Latin America)
Virgin Mobile Latin America (VMLA), a mobile virtual network operator established last year, has raised US$26.5 million to support its recent launch of services in Chile. A number of investors participated in this funding round, including existing shareholders ePlanet Capital, a U.S.-based venture and growth capital investment manager, and Virgin Group, as well as new investors Hermes Growth Partners, CANEPA,… Read More
BTG Pactual Acquires 30 Percent of Bodytech (Latin America)
Banco BTG Pactual, a Brazil-based investment bank, has acquired a 30 percent stake in Bodytech, a Brazilian fitness chain, for approximately BRL200 million (roughly US$105 million. Bodytech plans to use the additional capital to support its expansion plans. BTG Pactual’s investment in Bodytech comes in the wake of the bank’s US$2 billion IPO last month and the US$1.5 billion final… Read More
Forus Health Raises US$5 Million (Asia)
Indian venture capital funds IDG Ventures India and Accel Partners have invested US$5 million in Series A funding for local medical technology and solutions company Forus Health. The company plans to use the financing to drive manufacturing and sales of its flagship product 3nethra (a portable, low-cost, non-invasive pre-screening ophthalmology tool that can detect a number of eye-related problems) as… Read More
South African Firms Buy into Nigerian Food, Juice Provider (Sub-Saharan Africa)
South Africa-based private equity group RMB Corvest and South African investment holding company Zico Capital have jointly purchased a 25 percent stake in Nigerian food company Vital Products. The value of the transaction is not disclosed. Vital began operations in 1999 as a manufacturer and distributor of fruit drinks and non-alcoholic beverages, but has since expanded its product portfolio. The… Read More
Tunisia’s Fidelium Launches Two Growth Capital Private Equity Funds (MENA)
Tunisian venture capital fund manager Fidelium Finance has launched two private equity funds dedicated to small- and medium-size enterprises in the country. Fidelium Performance is a TND50 million (approximately US$33 million) fund that will invest in companies via common shares or preferred non-voting investment certificates, equity securities, convertible bonds and equity shares. Fidelium Essor II is a TND20 million (approximately… Read More
VTB Capital Venture Leads US$18 Million Round in Fast Lane Ventures (CEE/CIS)
VTB Capital Venture Business, a Moscow-based firm focused on venture capital investments in Russia and CIS countries, has led a Series C investment into Fast Lane Ventures, a local developer and promoter of internet businesses. The transaction is valued at US$18 million. The funding will be used to develop Fast Lane Ventures’s current portfolio of companies, finance new investments, and… Read More
Newsweek Expands Asian Presence with TStone Corp Partnership (Asia)
The Newsweek/DailyBeast Company LLC and TStone Corp, a Seoul-based private equity firm that focuses on media, education and financial services companies, are entering into a joint venture in Asia. The JV will create a pan-Asian media group with a focus on expanding the current Asian edition of Newsweek magazine through added local editorial focus and increased distribution. Financial details of… Read More
Enterprise Investors’ Venture Fund Invests EUR5.5 Million in Mobile Technologies (CEE/CIS)
Enterprise Investors, a private equity and venture capital firm in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe, has invested EUR5.5 million (approximately US$6.6 million) in BLStream, a Finland-based software company focused on mobile technologies. The investment, which represents a 35 percent stake in the company, was made through the EUR100 million Enterprise Venture Fund I (EVF). The company intends to use… Read More
TutorGroup Raises US$15 Million from Qiming Venture Partners to Fund Expansion in China (Asia)
Online language tutoring company TutorGroup (the parent company of VIPABC.com and TutorABC.com) has raised US$15 million in growth financing from Chinese venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners. The investment will be used to fund the expansion and delivery capacity of TutorGroup services throughout China. Read More
ChrysCapital Invests US$56.2 Million in Intas Pharmaceuticals (Asia)
India-focused private equity firm ChrysCapital has reportedly invested INR3 billion (approximately US$56.2 million) in pharmaceutical company Intas Pharmaceuticals, increasing its existing stake of 11.2 percent to over 15 percent. With the recent investment in place, Intas has deferred its plans to file an initial public offering and intends to re-file once the company believes market conditions have become less volatile.… Read More
WAMEX Announces the Final Closing of its Mexico PE Fund MIF II at US$160 Million (Latin America)
Mexico City-based WAMEX Private Equity has announced the final closing of its second growth equity fund MIF II with US$160 million in total commitments. While WAMEX raised the majority of commitments from Mexico’s pension funds, it has secured additional commitments for MIF II from institutional investors, including family offices, insurance companies and high net-worth individuals, through a parallel partnership. To… Read More
TalentSprint Raises Series A Funding from Nexus Venture Partners (Asia)
TalentSprint, an India-based skills development and training company, has raised INR200 million (roughly US$3.7 million) in Series A equity funding from Indian venture capital firm Nexus Venture Partners. TalentSprint offers employability programs to young professionals using experiential learning and iPEARL, its proprietary technology platform. With learning facilities in Hyderabad and Chennai, TalentSprint aspires to train 500,000 college graduates by 2020.… Read More