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Bamboo Finance Acquires Accion Investment Fund in a US$105 Million Transaction (Global)
Global microfinance private equity investor Bamboo Finance has acquired the Accion Investment Fund from Accion Investments, a subsidiary of global non-profit microfinance organization Accion International, for US$105 million. Bamboo Finance made the acquisition through its US$195 million Bamboo Financial Inclusion Fund. Going forward, Bamboo Finance will manage Accion’s Latin American investments, while its Sub-Saharan investments will be jointly managed by… Read More
Navent Raises US$30 Million from Riverwood Capital, Tiger Global Management (Latin America)
Global technology-focused private equity firm Riverwood Capital and hedge fund Tiger Global Management have invested US$30 million in Navent, an operator of several Latin America-focused websites. Navent operates Brazilian and Mexican real estate rental websites ImovelWeb and Mercadoi, respectively, and Latin American job website Bumeran. Navent will use proceeds from the investment to fund the expansion of these websites, as… Read More
SSG Makes Final Close on US$400 Million Hard-Cap (Asia)
SSG Capital Management, an Asia-focused special situations investor, has closed its second special situations fund, SSG Capital Partners II, at its hard-cap of US$400 million. The fund, which was originally targeting US$300 million in commitments, held a first close at US$100 million in February and attracted investors primarily from Europe, North America and Asia. The fund will focus on special… Read More
Ultrapetrol Announces Investment by Southern Cross Group (Latin America and the Caribbean)
Ultrapetrol, a Bahamas-based industrial marine transportation company, has agreed to sell approximately 78.38 percent of its outstanding common shares to Latin America-focused private equity firm Southern Cross Group for US$220 million. Southern Cross will invest in Ultrapetrol through Sparrow Capital Investments, a subsidiary of Southern Cross Latin America Private Equity Funds III and IV. The investment will allow Ultrapetrol, which… Read More
DEG Invests into Ethiopia-focused Fund (Sub-Saharan Africa)
German development finance institution DEG has committed US$10 million to an Ethiopia-focused private equity fund managed by pan-emerging markets private equity investor Schulze Global. The Schulze Global Ethiopia Growth and Transformation Fund I is targeting US$100 million in commitments and seeks to invest in small- and medium-sized enterprises in a range of sectors including agro-processing, industrials and manufacturing. Read More
VTB Capital and Bromak Announce the Acquisition of a Controlling Stake in Vivacom (CEE and CIS)
VTB Capital, the investment arm of Russia’s VTB Group, and co-investor Bromak, a Bulgarian investment brokerage firm, have acquired a controlling stake in Bulgarian integrated telecommunications company Vivacom through a EUR130 million (approximately US$165 million) investment. Vivacom used the equity injection to partially repay the company’s debt as part of a general balance sheet restructuring. Vivacom’s total leverage has been… Read More
Successful IPO for Actis in Uganda (Sub-Saharan Africa)
Ugandan electrical distribution company Umeme, a portfolio company of pan-emerging markets private equity investor Actis, has raised US$66 million through an initial public offering of 38 percent of the company’s total shares. Actis, which acquired 100 percent of Umeme in 2005, retains a post-IPO stake of 60 percent in the company. The offering was targeted at international investors (46 percent… Read More
Southern Bridge Capital Closes SBC Latin America Housing Fund at US$150 Million (Latin America)
Latin America-focused private equity real estate fund manager Southern Bridge Capital (SBC) has closed its SBC Latin America Housing Fund with committed capital of US$150 million in committed capital. SBC raised capital from public and private pension funds, multilaterals, funds of funds, charitable foundations and family offices. The fund seeks to invest in low- and middle-income housing developments in Peru,… Read More
Conduit Capital and CAF Invest in 40 Megawatt Peruvian Solar Project (Latin America)
Conduit Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on the power industry in Latin America, and the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), a Latin American multilateral development bank, have invested in the Tacna and Panamericana solar projects in southern Peru. Together, the projects total 40 megawatts. The transaction marks Conduit’s first investment in solar power, and is expected to be… Read More
Taiwanese Quick Service Restaurant, YPX Cayman, Completes Third Round of Financing (Asia)
YPX Cayman Holdings, the operator of Chinese restaurant chain Cloud 9, has received an US$11.5 million investment from Chinese private equity firm LionRock Capital, U.S.-based venture capital firm Ignition Capital and Ignition’s Chinese affiliate, Qiming Venture Partners. YPX intends to operate 30 Cloud 9 restaurants, which specialize in Taiwanese cuisine, in China by the end of 2012. YPX plans to… Read More
Mediterra Capital Partners Invests in a Turkish Fleet Telematics Service Provider (CEE and CIS)
Mediterra Capital Management, a Turkey-based private equity fund manager, has invested in fleet telematics service provider Mobiliz and its 100 percent subsidiary Filoturk. Mobiliz’s fleet telematics services allow Turkish companies to monitor and manage their drivers, vehicles and operations. The investment came from Mediterra Capital Partners I, which held a second close at EUR135 million (approximately US$172 million) in September… Read More
Venture Fund Closes Four New Investments in Regional Technology Start-ups (MENA)
Middle East-focused venture capital firm Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) has completed four Series A investments during the third quarter of 2012. MEVP invested in two Lebanese companies: Wixel Studios, a developer of games for tablets and smartphones, and Shahiya.com, a website and mobile application for sharing user-generated Arabic food recipes. The firm also invested in Gate2Play, a Jordanian electronic… Read More