Author: Asia PEVC

Vietnam’s Luxury E-Commerce Site Leflair Secures $7M in Funding

Leflair, Vietnam’s online premium outlet, announces its latest series-B funding round from GS Shop and Belt Road Capital Management for US$7 million, bringing the company’s total financing to date to close to US$12 million.

The last series-A funding round of the company was at US$ 3 million and happened 12 months ago in January 2018.

Following the flash-sales model that is proven to be successful in Europe (Vente-privee.com) and China (vip.com), Leflair offers a wide range of branded merchandise from Fashion, Beauty and Home worldwide to the Vietnamese consumers at an attractive price.

Since its launch in December 2015, the company has grown on average more than a 100% every year in gross merchandise value and is currently selling merchandise from more than 1,500 brands.

This round has the participation of two investors and also marks GS Shop’s first direct investment in Vietnam’s startup scene.

“We are going to use this capital first to leverage as much as possible the strategic partnership with GS and increase our flow of merchandise coming from Korea. It means investing in hiring the teams that will make this partnership a success and deploy resources in the areas of fulfillment, delivery and technology,” said Loic Gautier, Co-founder & CEO of Leflair.

As the demand for branded products continues to grow rapidly among the Vietnamese consumers, Leflair will continue to invest in their cross-border operations and bring in more international brands from overseas, in particularly Asia’s largest shopping hubs to Vietnam.

“Since the launch of our international hubs in Singapore and Hong Kong last year, we brought hundreds more brands, for the first time accessible to the Vietnamese consumers. International sales have been growing at an impressive 2x rate per quarter. We believe cross-border is the future of e-commerce in Southeast-Asia and with this additional funding, our customers will soon be able to purchase even more brands from new international hubs, in particular Korea and Japan, while enjoying the same delivery experience as for domestic deliveries.” Gautier commented.

Growing international operations is part of a bigger plan for Leflair to replicate the successes of Vietnam into other Southeast Asian markets.

“We started Leflair in Vietnam knowing that other markets with similar demographics are facing the same supply challenges. 2019 will be be the year of our regional expansion as we progress towards our mission of making the world’s best brands accessible to more consumers in Southeast-Asia.” Mr. Gautier said.

Until today, Leflair has closed a total of three rounds of investment from world-class angel investors and venture capital firms from the United States, France, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong and now from Korea and Cambodia.

The company was founded by Loic Gautier and Pierre-Antoine Brun, two French entrepreneurs currently living in Vietnam. Leflair is operating in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and has offices and fulfillment centers in Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong. – AsiaPEVC.com

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Malaysia’s AirAsia Selling Merah Aviation to US PE Firm Castlelake for $768m

Malaysia-headquartered low-cost carrier AirAsia Group Berhard is selling 25 planes owned by Merah Aviation Asset Holding Limited to US private equity firm Castlelake in a deal valued at $768 million, AirAsia announced on its website.

AirAsia, through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Asia Aviation Capital Limited, entered into agreements to sell Merah Aviation, which will comprise 25 existing aircraft, to AS Air Lease Holdings 5T DAC, an entity indirectly controlled by Castlelake.

Castlelake will also purchase four new aircraft that will be delivered to AirAsia in 2019, the airline said in a statement. The 29 planes – Airbus’ A320-200ceo and A320neo – will be leased back to AirAsia.

“This transaction is part of AirAsia’s ongoing transformation into something more than an airline. As we move towards becoming a travel technology company, the disposal of these aircraft will not only unlock significant value but also bring us closer to our goal of being a truly digital company,” said AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes.

The buyer, Castlelake specializes in providing creative, flexible capital solutions for its airline partners. Since its inception in 2005, Castlelake has invested in and managed more than 500 aircraft on behalf of its funds.

With the closing of this transaction, Castlelake’s current fleet will comprise more than 250 aircraft.

“Castlelake is pleased to support AirAsia as it pursues its strategic goals by offering full-service leasing and capital solutions,” said Castlelake managing partner Evan Carruthers.

As of September 30, 2018, Castlelake manages private funds and debt vehicles with approximately $13 billion in assets, on behalf of its investors, including endowments, foundations, public and private pension plans, private funds, family offices, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds.

BNP Paribas is acting as financial advisor to AAGB while Stephenson Harwood LLP and Tay & Partners are acting as legal counsels to AAGB. Castlelake retained Vedder Price PC as legal counsel. – AsiaPEVC.com

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Filinvest, JG Summit, Changi Consortium Win O&M Deal For Clark Airport
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Philippines: Filinvest, JG Summit, Changi Consortium Win O&M Deal For Clark Airport

The North Luzon Airport Consortium (NLAC), comprising Filinvest Development Corporation, JG Summit Holdings Inc., Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc. and Changi Airport Philippines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Changi Airports International, was awarded the operations and maintenance (O&M) contract of the Clark International Airport.

According to a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Notice of Award was given to NLAC for the project, dubbed a hybrid Public Private Partnership project with a 25-year concession, by the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA).

“We are thankful for this opportunity. The consortium envisions to create a new identity for Clark Airport as the Northern and Central Luzon’s gateway that will provide fast, efficient, and hassle-free travel experience,” said Josephine Gotianun-Yap, President& CEO of Filinvest Development Corporation, the lead consortium member.

The improved Clark International Airport will facilitate and enhance connectivity between Central and North Luzon, and the rest of the Philippines, and the world.

The project includes the operations and maintenance of the existing terminal and the new terminal. The consortium is also set to develop the commercial assets, operate and maintain project facilities and fit-out the new terminal.

“We are confident that with the vast experience of each member of the consortium in terms of property development, air transportation and airport operations, NLAC will be able to reinvent Clark International Airport to a world-class airport, meet the continued growth of international and domestic air travel, and deliver its commitment to the government and the public,” Gotianun-Yap added.

NLAC aims to establish a new reputation for Philippine international gateway airports to ensure ease and seamless travel in the Philippine airports with the consortium’s technical partner, Changi Airport Philippines (I) Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Changi Airports International which in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Changi Airport Group, the operator of the most awarded airport in the world, Singapore Changi Airport.

The operations and maintenance of the Clark International Airport by NLAC will spur economic development of the Central and North Luzon corridor and support the New Clark City initiatives. – AsiaPEVC.com

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SoftBank Vision Fund Leads $400m Funding in Biotech Firm Relay Therapeutics

SoftBank Vision Fund, a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank Group Co, has led the $400-million Series C funding round in US-based biotechnology firm Relay Therapeutics, according to a statement Thursday.

The financing round was also participated by Foresite Capital, Perceptive Advisors, and Tavistock Group. Existing GV, Casdin Capital, BVF Partners, EcoR1 Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, and an affiliate of D.E. Shaw Research also backed the round.

Proceeds from this financing are anticipated to be used to accelerate the implementation of Relay Therapeutics’ long-term strategy. Relay said the fresh funds will support the expansion of the company’s discovery efforts, advance existing programs into the clinic and bolster its broad platform and diverse team.

Relay Therapeutics said it combines “unprecedented computational power” with leading-edge experimental approaches across the fields of structural biology, biophysics, chemistry and biology.

The integration of these disparate disciplines, tools and cultures enables Relay Therapeutics to overcome challenges that prior attempts have failed to solve and to design therapies against validated but previously intractable targets.

The company’s initial discovery programs in cancer have led to the development of highly selective inhibitors of disease-causing proteins in genomically defined patient populations.

“We are at a unique moment in the evolution of drug discovery where we can realize the promise of integrating ever more powerful experimental and computational discovery tools to tackle previously undruggable protein targets. The success of our early programs validates the potential of our platform to create breakthrough therapies that address a broad range of diseases,” said Sanjiv Patel, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Relay Therapeutics.

The latest funding round brings the company’s total funding amount to $520 million. It first raised $57 million in September 2016 for its Series A. In December 2017, the company raised another $63 million for its Series B.

“A financing of this magnitude allows Relay Therapeutics to significantly scale and advance both its platform and its pipeline. We are thrilled by the strong support of our investors for our mission, vision and strategy,” said Alexis Borisy, Chairman of Relay Therapeutics and Partner at Third Rock Ventures.

SoftBank Vision Fund, according to its latest amended SEC filing, raised a total of approximately $98.58 billion from 14 investors since its first sale on May 20, 2017. The fund has become one of the primary funding vehicles for technology companies around the world. Saudi Arabia provided $45 billion for the fund. – AsiaPEVC.com

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Lightspeed Venture Raising $560 Million For Two Chinese Funds

Lightspeed Venture Raising $560 Million For Two Chinese Funds

Lighstpeed Venture Partners, an American venture capital firm focusing on early stage investments in the enterprise technology and consumer space, is raising a total of $560 million for VC funds focused on China.

In its pair of filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Lightspeed Venture said it is raising $360 million for a fourth Chinese venture capital fund and $200 million for a Chinese select fund.

The two funds – Lightspeed China Partners IV and Lightspeed China Partners Select I GP – add to Lightspeed’s 15 funds that have raised a combined $7.6 billion, according to Crunchbase data.

For this year, the firm raised $3.8 billion for its four funds – Lightspeed Venture Partners Select III, Lightspeed India Partners II, Lightspeed Venture Partners XII, and Lightspeed Venture Partners Select III.

Founded in 2000, Lightspeed Venture Partners invests in various sectors: enterprise, consumer, big data, bitcoin, enterprise technology, cleantech, mobile, internet, financial technology, cloud solutions, e-commerce, storage, media, networking, energy, and software, software-as-a-service, information technology, biotechnology, and social.

It mainly invests in countries such as the United States, Europe, Israel, China, and India.

Since its inception, the firm has made 678 investments, with 203 of them as lead investor. Its most recent investment was on December 14, 2018, when it invested $60 million Faire, a startup that helps retailers fund and buy wholesale merchandise for their stores.

Lightspeed-backed companies have held 17 initial public offerings in the last five years, about half of which have occurred since the start of 2017, including messaging app Snap, personal stylist company Stitch Fix Inc, and data storage provider Nutanix Inc.

It also reaped windfalls when Cisco Systems Inc acquired AppDynamics Inc and when Salesforce.com Inc bought MuleSoft for multiple billions of dollars.

According to a Reuters report, Lightspeed is eyeing a business expansion to Southeast Asia and wants to add investments in cryptocurrency, biotechnology, new TV streaming services and even cosmetics companies. – AsiaPEVC.com 

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Gaw Capital Consortium Buys HK Shopping Centers for $1.4bn

Gaw Capital Partners today announced that the firm, through a fund under its management, and consortium partners, including Goldman Sachs, have won a bid to acquire a retail portfolio comprising 12 shopping centers in Hong Kong from Link Asset Management Limited at HK$12.01 billion ($1.4 billion).

The portfolio is comprised of a number of strategically-located properties across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories that sit in the heart of densely-populated communities.

The GFA of the portfolio totals 1.1 million sq. ft. of prime retail space and comes with over 4,700 parking spaces that are connected to highly-convenient transport links.

“Their excellent accessibility and holistic shopping environments have made them attractive destinations for retailers and hubs of community life for residents,” Gaw said.

The shopping centers included in the portfolio are: Retail and Car Park within Ap Lei Chau Estate, Chun Shek Shopping Centre, Fortune Shopping Centre, King Lam Shopping Centre, Lei Tung Commercial Centre, Ming Tak Shopping Centre, Shan King Commercial Centre, Siu Hei Commercial Centre, Retail and Car Park within Tai Ping Estate, Wah Ming Shopping Centre, Wah Sum Shopping Centre, Wang Tau Hom (Wang Fai Centre).

“We and our partners are confident about Hong Kong’s future, and believe these malls will continue to serve important functions in the community. Followed by the bid we won together with our consortium partners to acquire 17 shopping malls in 2017, we will further leverage our experience to evolve these malls into refreshed and renewed centers of local life and collaborate with the local NGOs and existing tenants to build a better neighborhood for themselves,” Goodwin Gaw, Chairman and Managing Principal of Gaw Capital Partners, said.

It was not the first time for the Gaw Capital-led consortium to acquire assets from Link Reit. In November 2017, the same consortium bought 17 Hong Kong malls for HK$23 billion ($2.9 billion) from Link Reit.

“We worked closely with the community over the past 12 months and implemented a series of initiatives to better make use of these malls for the community. We look forward to applying our expertise in repositioning commercial property to add significant strategic value to this additional portfolio,” Kenneth Gaw, President and Managing Principal of Gaw Capital Partners, commented.

Gaw Capital has over 13 years of experience investing in and/or turning around commercial properties in Greater China, including Hong Kong. – AsiaPEVC.com

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Singapore Proptech Startup Propseller Raises $731K in Seed Funding

Singaporean startup Propseller has closed a S$1-million ($731,000) seed funding round from industry entrepreneurs and senior executives, the company said in a statement.

Propseller helps prospective property sellers and landlords find and compare the best property agents. It will use the fresh funds to accelerate its growth and further develop its technology focused on a “transparent approach” to select an agent using
independent reviews and agents’ track records.

The startup’s model and progress have attracted investments from prestigious business angels. Local entrepreneurs Yang Bin Kwok and Erwan Mace, founders of two of Singapore’s most successful startups, Zopim and Muslim Pro respectively, were in the round.

They were joined by some industry senior executives. Most notably PJ Vandepitte (global COO of Foodpanda), and real estate industry veteran Yvan de Rham (former Chairman of Sotheby’s International Realty for Switzerland) who commented “Propseller is doing at scale something that the industry needed for a long time: to make agents accountable for their work, from the very first phone call until after the contract is signed.”

Only 12 months after its launch, Propseller said owners using the platform have already put up for sale or rent S$500 million in combined property value. On the agent side, the traction is just as high, with 500 handpicked agents – from estate agencies such as PropNex, ERA and Sotheby’s – embracing the transparency route, joining Propseller and allowing client to rate their services.

“We invite only the best agents to join, then we have a very clear game play with them: delivering the highest level of service is the only way for them to build and maintain a reputation on Propseller,” the startup said.

The startup sees its service as “complementary” to the property listing portals. “PropertyGuru or 99.co are presenting properties to buyers and tenants. – AsiaPEVC.com

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Singapore’s Helpling Secures Funding from Tamedia AG, Enters Switzerland

Helpling, a Singapore-based online marketplace for household services has expanded into Switzerland after receiving a seven-figure investment from Tamedia AG.

This step strengthens Helpling’s position as Singapore’s leading brand in the household services space, the company said in a statement.

Helpling.ch enables customers in Switzerland to find their perfect cleaner and to book cleaning services with just a few clicks. The service is available in twelve cities across Switzerland including Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern, and Lausanne. Helpling is now active in 10 countries on three continents.

As part of the expansion, Helpling acquired the Swiss business from its former competitor Book a Tiger, who has decided to focus on B2B customers in Germany.

The company already serves thousands of regular customers. Helpling and Tamedia AG, Switzerland’s leading Media Group, see great potential in the Swiss market and will focus on the rapid expansion of the business. To support the envisaged growth, Tamedia AG has invested a seven-figure amount.

“We have acquired a well-established business and won a great local partner with Tamedia. Helpling has made great progress over the last years and we are looking ahead from a position of strength. Further expansion to more markets and additional services are on our roadmap,” Benedikt Franke, Co-founder of Helpling, said.

Helpling was founded in 2014 and has helped hundreds of thousands of households find their perfect cleaner and has supported tens of thousands of service providers in their business.

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On the Helping platform, service providers are able to set their own prices and present their services through an online profile. Customers can select their cleaner based on various criteria, such as experiences from other customers, ratings or price.

Customers and cleaners both benefit from the automatic invoicing, secure online payment, customer service and a insurance against damages.

Helpling was founded in 2014 by Benedikt Franke and Philip Huffmann. Among its investors are Mangrove Capital, Lakestar, Rocket Internet, Accel, and Unilever Ventures. Helpling is active in 10 Countries on three continents: Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United Kingdom (UK). – AsiaPEVC.com

Singapore Data Center Startup AirTrunk Secures $621M Funding

AirTrunk, a specialist in hyperscale data centres, has successfully completed an AU$850 million ($621 million) financing process to fund a major expansion of its Australian data centres in Sydney and Melbourne, and across key Asia-Pacific markets.

The expansion has been driven by strong customer demand for hyperscale data centre solutions, the company said.

Deutsche Bank is the lead arranger, underwriter and sole bookrunner for the new senior secured debt facilities. The financing will be the largest by a data centre company in Australia.

AirTrunk founder and CEO, Robin Khuda, and shareholders, Goldman Sachs and TSSP, have also contributed new capital to support the expansion plans.

“We saw a substantial amount of global interest in AirTrunk throughout the process, and are delighted to complete this financing arrangement with Deutsche Bank. Together with the new capital recently contributed by our shareholders, the new funds put us in a strong position to meet the growing demand from large cloud, content and enterprise customers in the Asia-Pacific region,” Khuda said.

AirTrunk opened its two Australian data centres last year – AirTrunk Sydney in September and AirTrunk Melbourne in November. The two facilities are set to be the largest independent data centres in the Asia-Pacific region when completed at 90 megawatts and 84 megawatts respectively.

“AirTrunk continues to pursue its ambition to be the leader in hyperscale data centres for the region. The expansion in Australia will establish AirTrunk as the largest data centre operator in Australia by deployed capacity and we continue to pursue aggressive growth opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region,” added Khuda.

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AirTrunk is a hyperscale data centre specialist creating a platform for cloud, content and large enterprise customers across the Asia-Pacific region. The company develops and operates data centre campuses with industry leading reliability, technology innovation and energy efficiency. – AsiaPEVC.com

Australia: Wesfarmers Selling Kmart Tyre and Auto Service to Continental

Australia-listed conglomerate Wesfarmers today announced it has agreed to sell its Kmart Tyre and Auto Service (KTAS) business to Continental AG for $350 million.

On successful completion of the transaction, Wesfarmers estimates it will report a pre-tax profit on sale of approximately $270 million to $275 million, subject to completion adjustments.

The sale is subject to certain consents and approvals including from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Foreign Investment Review Board.

KTAS is one of Australia’s largest tyre, automotive service, and repair retailers. The business has 258 stores in Australia with over 1,200 employees. It is also the largest single employer of apprentice motor mechanics in Australia.

Continental, based in Germany, will use the KTAS name and logo for a transitional period following the sale. Its five divisions in 2017 generated sales of €44 billion and it currently employs more than 243,000 people in 60 countries.

Continental’s Tire division is a technology leader in tyre production and offers a broad product range for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and two-wheelers.

Its product portfolio also includes fleet applications, as well as digital management systems for commercial vehicle tyres.

Wesfarmers Managing Director Rob Scott said the agreement to sell KTAS crystallises value for shareholders from the business turnaround since it was acquired as part of the Coles Group in 2007.

“We believe that the divestment is in the best interests of Wesfarmers’ shareholders, while giving the employees and customers of KTAS the opportunity to join a highly complementary business in Continental. Continental’s automotive industry expertise will further strengthen the business’ customer offering,” Scott said.

Subject to satisfying conditions precedent, the divestment of KTAS is expected to complete in the first quarter of the 2019 financial year.

Last week, Wesfarmers also announced it has agreed to sell its 40 per cent interest in the Bengalla Joint Venture to its joint venture partner New Hope Corporation (ASX:NHC) for $860 million.

On successful completion of the transaction, Wesfarmers expects to report a pre-tax profit on sale of approximately $670 million to $680 million subject to completion adjustments.

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Bengalla is currently owned 40 per cent by Wesfarmers, 40 per cent by New Hope, 10 per cent by Taipower and 10 per cent by Mitsui. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and pre-emption rights under the Bengalla Joint Venture Deed. The sale of the interest in the Bengalla Joint Venture is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018. – AsiaPEVC.com