Asia Pacific’s population of high net worth individuals fell 14.2 per cent to 2.4 million in 2008 amid a global economic downturn and market volatility, according to a report from Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Capgemini. The combined wealth of the region’s high net worth individuals dropped 22.3 per cent to USD7.4trn.   Ultra-high net worths, or individuals with investable assets of at least USD30m, witnessed steeper wealth erosion with the number of ultra-HNWIs in Asia Pacific falling 29.6 per cent to 14,300 and their total wealth shrinking 35.1 per cent. Growth in Asia Pacific’s HNWI population and wealth is

Venture capital firms Tamir Fishman Ventures, Carmel Ventures, The Challenge Fund II and Motorola Ventures are planning to sell their stake in CopperGate Communications, to Sigma Designs. Both CopperGate and Sigma are US-based developers of system-on-a-chip semiconductors. The total transaction is valued at USD160m. The estimated amount of cash to be paid by Sigma on the closing date is approximately USD92m, plus the amount of cash and cash equivalents estimated to be held by CopperGate at the closing, net of CopperGate transaction expenses and debt outstanding at the closing. In addition, Sigma will issue shares of its common stock to

Conning, a provider of asset management and consulting services to the insurance industry, has been acquired by funds managed by Aquiline Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm investing in the financial services sector. “We are pleased to close this transaction with Aquiline. This is a very exciting time for the entire Conning team,” says Salvatore Correnti, chief executive of Conning. “We have received excellent response to our partnership from both clients and prospects. We look forward to enhancing and extending our relationships and services with current and future clients.”

Amarin has entered into a definitive agreement with several existing and new institutional and accredited investors for a USD70m private placement. The private placement of units for USD70m consists of USD66.4m in cash proceeds and USD3.6m from the conversion of convertible bridge notes.  The financing was led by existing investor, Fountain Healthcare Partners, on behalf of funds affiliated with other existing investors Sofinnova Ventures, Orbimed Advisors and Longitude Capital. The new investor group was led by funds affiliated with Abingworth and included APG Asset Management, Great Point Partners, Tavistock Life Sciences and RA Capital. In consideration for the USD66.4m received

SEI has signed ten new collective investment trust managers over the past eight months. According to Cerulli Associates, CITs represented about USD733bn in employer-sponsored retirement plans, including defined benefit and defined contribution plan assets as of 30 June 2009. SEI has specialised in the CIT market for more than 15 years, but has experienced even stronger growth as the adoption of CITs in the retirement space becomes more prevalent. Public policy and litigation has increased the scrutiny of retirement plan costs and fees, pushing plan sponsors toward lower-cost solutions such as CITs. Technology enhancements have also played a role in

Environmental Capital Partners, a New York based private equity firm, has made an investment in Cascade Drilling in order to fund the company’s future growth initiatives.  Bruce Niermeyer, Cascade Drilling’s founder, remains a significant shareholder and will continue as president and chief executive.  Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. “We are delighted with our investment in Cascade Drilling. By providing environmental drilling services for water and soil assessment, monitoring, and remediation purposes, Cascade Drilling is a perfect fit with our broader mission to promote the growth of companies that enhance environmental sustainability,” says Robert Egan, a managing partner of

Fortress Investment Group has priced RailAmerica’s initial public offering of 10,500,000 primary shares of common stock at USD15 per share. A further 11,500,000 secondary shares of common stock of RailAmerica are being offered by RR Acquisition Holding, an entity wholly-owned by certain private equity funds managed by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group. Fortress funds acquired the company in February 2007 and will continue to own approximately 55.8 per cent of RailAmerica after the closing of the offering. In connection with the offering, RailAmerica granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,575,000 additional shares of common stock,