DealStreetAsia

A recap of the week that went by Padmapriya J.  Our top stories included an analysis of the state of affairs at KoinWorks. The Indonesian P2P lender is in the throes of raising fresh funds amid a $22 million borrower default that may have thrown a wrench into its operations. The company insists it does not face insolvency but there is a dire "need to strengthen its financial position”. We also reported on the latest developments at eFishery, which has appointed a new CEO and is reviewing the feasibility of each of its four business divisions. Catch the other top headlines of the last seven days. https://lnkd.in/dsG4m35W

A whopping $6.4 billion was invested into Asia Pacific’s private education sector in 2024, the bulk of it from private equity players, shows a report by L.E.K Consulting. Southeast Asia and India drove dealmaking activity in 2024, attracting over 90% of the capital deployed. Top deals: EQT’s investment in Indian loan provider HDFC Credila, the privatisation of Japan’s Benesse, and Hillhouse’s deal for Dulwich’s schools. Pimfha C.'s report: https://lnkd.in/dnBpzs6y

Southeast Asian ice cream maker Aice Group Holdings is reportedly in advanced talks to raise over $100 million in fresh funding from existing and new investors. Aastha Saboo (Maheshwari) and gita rossiana's report: https://lnkd.in/dxvhVsVC

We continue to stay on top of the developments at eFishery. A new CEO from FTI Consulting has taken charge, and the current management is reassessing the feasibility of eFishery's four business divisions. While the core feeder business is expected to remain, other divisions are under review. Marsya Nabila and gita rossiana report from the ground: https://lnkd.in/d3cSh2Ku

Omnichat has launched an AI-powered conversational suite driven by Agentic AI for 2025. The all-in-one omnichannel customer experience platform has seen an 8X revenue increase over the past three years, reaching an ARR of over $10 million. Now, the company is looking to raise $10 million in a Series A+ funding round.

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After raising about $8 billion across its evergreen funds in 2024, Swiss investment firm Partners Group has launched a new evergreen fund to give institutional investors across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia access to its multi-sector royalty strategy.

A 365 billion rupiah ($22 million) borrower default may have thrown a wrench into the operations of Koinworks. The P2P lender, which was summoned by the Indonesian regulator only recently, needs to raise cash soon, but convincing investors to throw in more capital will be no walk in the park. While the company's current challenges stem from an external fraud and there is no systemic failure, experts see a crisis of confidence brewing. Can it tide over the situation? Marsya Nabila, Gita Rossiana, and Aastha Maheshwari report:

In the latest edition of our weekly private equity newsletter 'Beyond the Buyout' we examine, among other things, the wave of Chinese GPs taking a shot at Japan’s mid-market and what the billion-dollar pact between the Philippines’s sovereign wealth fund and Thai conglomerate CP Group means for its ecosystem.

The Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund, which focused on Africa’s high-impact infrastructure lending, recently expanded its mandate to South and Southeast Asia. Now, it plans to build out its Asia exposure to about a third of its total fund size. "“It is exciting to be in Asia, given how much growth and potential there is in this region,” said Esther Chan, investment director at NinetyOne, the manager of EAAIF, in an interview with Ngoc Nguyen.