Private Equity

India - Policy row may delay private equity exit in real estate sector

Source: The Economic Times, 01 February 2012

Up to $5 billion worth of private equity funds, which had invested in real estate over the last five to six years and had planned an exit this year, now find themselves caught in a policy row between the Reserve Bank of India and the government.

Private equity funds, which ET contacted, declined to comment on the issue. Many of them are caught in legal tangles with their Indian partners who have used this opportunity to gain an upper hand during exit negotiations. In fact, many of the cases have come to light because Indian firms reported their agreements to RBI, in the guise of a clarification, to which the RBI said it would not allow exits. PE funds and investment bankers say that if this issue is not resolved now, going forward, exits will become even more complex.

Vietnam - Japanese venture capital funds eye Vietnam

Source: Vietnam News, 07 February 2012

Japan’s venture capital funds are paying increasingly more attention to Vietnamese businesses, particularly in the fields of medicine and information technology.

According to Japan’s leading economic and financial daily Nikkei, venture funds Dream Incubator Inc. and Orix Corp. are acquiring 31 percent of stake of the Japan-Vietnam Medical Instrument Co., a medical equipment wholesaler in Vietnam, through DI Asian Industrial Fund LP. Another source said that their first investment in the business is worth 600-800 million yen (US$77-102 million).

India - Signs of deal revival in healthcare sector

Source: livemint.com, 01 February 2012

After a lull in 2011, private equity investors are once again eyeing investments in India’s healthcare sector, spurred by scaleable business models and attractive valuations of mid-sized niche healthcare firms. Although the year has just started, PE investors have already put in over $156 million in three healthcare firms, half of what was invested in the whole of last year.

PE interest in healthcare is slowly reviving as funds feel investments at reasonable valuations in mid-sized companies with capital efficient models will pay off in the medium to long term. With a number of deals in the pipeline, PE investments in healthcare in the first quarter of 2012 alone may surpass last year’s figure.

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