Latest News
Private markets asset manager HarbourVest Partners has appointed Tadasu Matsuo as a managing director and co-head of the firm’s Japan office. Based in Tokyo, Matsuo will be responsible for enhancing and building relationships with institutional investors and general partners in Japan.
“HarbourVest established our office in Tokyo nearly 10 years ago and we continue to broaden our presence in Japan,” says John Toomey, Managing Director, HarbourVest Partners. “Matsuo-san’s deep experience in the financial sector and his longstanding institutional relationships in the region made him an ideal candidate for this role. We are excited to have him join our team and work
JP Morgan dominated the M&A financial advisers league table based on both deal value and volume in Asia-Pacific for the coronavirus-hit first quarter of 2020.
In terms of value, the American investment bank advised USD20.1 billion worth deals in Q1 2020, according to new research by Global Data.
GlobalData, which tracks all M&A, PE/VC and asset transaction activity around the world to compile the league tables, listed the latest M&A top 10 financial advisers in Asia-Pacific by value and volume for Q1 2020. The region experienced subdued deal activity due to COVID-19.
“Despite the overall deal activity declining among other
Global alternative asset manager GCM Grosvenor has completed the final close of its Co-Investment Opportunities Fund II with nearly USD540 million in committed capital.
Public, corporate, and Taft-Hartley pension plans, financial institutions, and family offices based in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia invested in Co-Investment Opportunities Fund II.
The fund targets buyout co-investments alongside private equity sponsors, with a focus on the middle-market. It will pursue opportunities sourced from nearly 300 middle-market buyout fund commitments.
“We believe properly constructed co-invest programs benefit investors’ private equity portfolios by providing complementary exposures, j-curve mitigation, and return enhancement from fee
Erie Street, an independent advisory firm that works with founders and management teams to achieve next-level growth, has appointed Matt Hallgren as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).In this new role, Hallgren will be responsible for overseeing the financial operations for both Erie Street and Performance Improvement Partners (PIP), an Erie Street company, including accounting, financial planning and analysis, internal controls, and investor relations, while also designing and developing the firms’ M&A strategies. In addition, he will support the evaluation and strategic integration of acquisitions for Erie Street and its partner companies. Hallgren will report to Jerry Graunke, Principal, Erie Street.
“Erie
A group of investors led by Bernhard Capital Partners Management, LP (Bernhard Capital), has acquired Ascension Wastewater Treatment (AWT), the largest private sewer utility operator in Louisiana.Immediately following the acquisition, Bernhard Capital announced it is committing to a two-month rebate for all AWT customers to assist them in navigating the challenges and economic hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic. This represents an average rebate of USD90 per customer over the two-month billing cycle. In total, it will credit approximately USD1.5 million to AWT customers. Additionally, Bernhard Capital is donating thousands of protective face masks to Our Lady of the Lake Ascension
Investcorp Technology Partners, a European technology investor, has agreed to acquire Avira Holding (Avira) for USD180 million.Avira is a German headquartered, multinational cybersecurity software solutions firm serving the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and Consumer end markets, with over 500 million endpoints protected globally. Over its 30+ year history, the Company has developed particular strengths in Anti-Malware, Threat Intelligence and IoT solutions. Its software provides next generation security for users’ online identity, finances, and private data, protecting against viruses, malware, ransomware and other threats.
This acquisition represents the first institutional investment in Avira since it was founded in 1986 by
The number of carve-out acquisitions is expected to rise as businesses look to restructure following the Covid-19 crisis.
New research has revealed that around a fifth of carve-outs result in millions of dollars wasted because of inefficiencies, however. A survey, commissioned by TMF Group, found that 34 per cent of senior executives from private equity firms with buy-side experience said their most recent cross-border carve-out failed to deliver on expectations, with 24 per cent saying costly overruns impacted the deal.
Where a delay resulted in increased cost, a majority of those from private equity firms (92 per cent) said it
O’Melveny has added C Todd Boes, a private equity lawyer with strong M&A experience, as a corporate partner based in the firm’s San Francisco office.Boes’ arrival delivers on a key firm priority: adding to O’Melveny’s roster of exceptional California private equity partners. He comes to O’Melveny from the Private Equity Transactions group of an AmLaw 50 firm in San Francisco. Boes has a long history of advising major California- and other US-based private equity sponsors, and his clients include some of the biggest names in the space.
Boes’ private equity practice emphasises mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and other direct
StepStone Group (StepStone) has held the final closing of its secondary private equity fund, StepStone Secondary Opportunities Fund IV (SSOF IV), raising USD2.1 billion of commitments. The fund surpassed its original target of USD1.25 billion. Together with capital from separately managed accounts, StepStone has raised over USD2.4 billion for its differentiated secondary private equity strategy.
Limited partners in the fund consist of both existing and new investors from around the world, including sovereign wealth funds, public and corporate pension plans, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, family offices, and financial services and advisory firms.
SSOF IV’s investment strategy focuses on the
Eurazeo is creating a EUR10 million solidarity fund to buy and donate products from its investee companies to support communities affected by Covid-19, with the support of its shareholders.
The fund will be financed from Eurazeo’s cash holdings and by donations from the supervisory board, the executive board and the executive committee members.
The executive board members have decided to take part by contributing 10 per cent of their annual bonuses for 2019, payable in April 2020, to the solidarity plan.
The Paris-headquartered firm also said that “given the unprecedented uncertainty around the world and in line with the French
Special Reports
Featured
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
