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☆ Generative A.I. will have a 'fundamental impact' on private equity, says Bain & Co
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailGenerative A.I. will have a 'fundamental impact' on private equity, says Bain & CoChristophe De Vusser, head of Bain & Company's EMEA private equity practice, says it's part of the next wave of digitalization that will affect a significant number of industries.

Persons: Christophe De Vusser Organizations: Bain, Bain & Company's

June 8 - Legal AI company EvenUp has raised an additional $50.5 million in Series B funding from new investors including Bessemer Venture Partners and Bain Capital Ventures, the San Francisco-based company said Thursday, valuing the company at $325 million. EvenUp provides a product to personal injury law firms that automates the workflow for demand letters, using generative AI and a proprietary legal dataset. These have been boom times for the legal AI market, as legal firms have lined up to embrace generative AI. Law is an ideal use case for generative AI because what lawyers do – analyze content and then synthesize it in prose – is exactly what generative AI products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which was trained on reams of text, do best, said Bessemer partner Sameer Dholakia. He estimated there are about 300,000 personal injury attorneys and 20 million personal injury cases per year.

Persons: EvenUp, Rami Karabibar, Sameer Dholakia, Karabibar, Anna Tong, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Bessemer Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, NFX, Reuters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco

☆ Private equity hurtles towards hard Asia reset
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SINGAPORE, June 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sequoia’s decision to carve out its China business formalises a push for a hard reset in Asia that private equity firms have until now largely been grappling with behind the scenes. These country-agnostic funds accounted for just over half the money raised in 2022 in the region, a 22-year high. Granted, these South and Southeast Asia markets are small at present compared to China; that’s why more firms are seeking bigger-ticket buyouts in Australia and Japan. That will eventually weigh on performance in the region, which for top-quartile Asia funds last year was a very respectable median 25% net internal rate of return, per Preqin. Private equity’s cooling relationship with China, though, is likely to hit hard for most.

Persons: Neil Shen, Shailendra Singh, Singh, Zhang Lei, There’s, Shen, Antony Currie, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Bain & Co, Bain Capital, KKR, XV Partners, Sequoia, Twitter, NEWS Venture, Sequoia Capital, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, China, Asia, Republic, Sequoia, India, Southeast Asia, Greater China, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Hillhouse, Singapore, Australia, Japan, U.S

☆ Bain Capital values Chindata at nearly $3 bln in take-private offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Bain Capital's proposal values each American depositary share of Chindata at $8, representing a premium of more than 27% to its last closing price. The private equity firm already owns a 42.2% stake in Chindata, according to Bain Capital. Data centers and cloud services have seen increased demand due to the widespread adoption of AI technologies. However, analysts expect enterprise customers to optimize their expenditure on cloud services. Chindata's services include designing and operating data centers in China, India and Southeast Asia.

Persons: Bain, Akash Sriram, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Chindata, Bain Capital, Bain Capital ., Thomson Locations: Chindata, China, India, Southeast Asia, Bengaluru

☆ How to land a job with Blackstone, Apollo, KRR, and other private equity titans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Kaja Whitehouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Private equity is often seen as the Holy Grail of finance jobs — but breaking in can be challenging. We also have data on private equity pay and the industry's top recruiters. Here is what we found about pay at private equity firms, including Blackstone, Apollo, and Bain Capital. Private equity recruiting has been starting earlier than ever Getty ImagesPrivate equity firms like to recruit young talent from investment banks. These days, the private equity recruiting process has started earlier than ever, resulting in middle-of-the-night interviews with offers being made — and blown up — all before Labor Day.

Persons: —, bymuratdeniz, Blackstone, Samantha Lee, Drew Angerer, Skye Gould, Jon Gray, Grace Koo, Read, Carlyle, Alex Crisses, Thoma Bravo, Warburg Pincus, Wharton's, Axel Springer Organizations: Blackstone, KKR, Service, Apax Partners, Oaktree, of Foreign Labor, Apollo, Bain Capital, Labor, General Atlantic, PJT Partners, Partners, dealmakers, Wall, University of Michigan Locations: Carlyle, Blackstone, Axel

Rubrik may raise more than $750 million in its IPO, three of the sources added, though that may change based on market conditions as the preparations are still at an early stage. Rubrik currently generates annual recurring revenue of about $600 million, one of the sources said. Three of the sources said Rubrik could choose to go public in 2024, if the IPO market becomes more welcoming. Founded in 2014 by venture capitalist Bipul Sinha, Rubrik makes cloud-based ransomware protection and data-backup software. SoftBank-backed Cohesity Inc, which competes with Rubrik, is also preparing to go public, having filed confidentially for an IPO in late 2021, Reuters reported.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Rubrik, Bipul Sinha, Johnson, Echo Wang, Milana Vinn, Krystal Hu, Matthew Lewis Organizations: YORK, Microsoft Corp, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc, Barclays, Citi, Nvidia Corp, Depot Inc, Bain Capital Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kenvue Inc, Johnson, SoftBank Group Corp, Inc, Reuters, Cohesity Inc, Thomson Locations: U.S, Palo Alto , California, ., New York

☆ Southeast Asia's digital economy may be set to hit $1 trillion, but roadblocks remain
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A woman (R) adjusts the Philippines flag before the 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)- Republic of Korea Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on August 3, 2018. Southeast Asia's digital economy has plenty of growth potential, backed by strong fundamentals including over 460 million digital consumers, young and tech-savvy populations, as well as rising internet penetration. The digital economy across six countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc — known as ASEAN-6 and comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam — is projected to grow 6% annually. From the urban-rural divide to low digital literacy, the region continues to grapple with challenges that could hold back that growth. "ASEAN's digital economy is expanding, but there is the digital divide," said Anthony Toh, research analyst at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, a think-tank within Nanyang Technological University.

Persons: Anthony Toh, Toh Organizations: 51st Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Google, Temasek, Bain & Company, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, & $ Locations: Philippines, Republic, Korea, Singapore, ASEAN, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Nanyang, Brunei, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia

☆ Xi Jinping says China's national security is faces a 'complex and grave' situation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“The complexity and difficulty of the national security issues we now face have increased significantly,” Xi said Tuesday at a meeting of the party’s National Security Commission, state news agency Xinhua reported. Since coming to power a decade ago, Xi has made national security a key paradigm that permeates all aspects of China’s governance, experts say. He has expanded the concept of national security to cover everything from politics, economy, defense, culture and ecology to cyberspace. Under Xi’s notion of “comprehensive national security,” China has introduced a raft of legislation to protect itself against perceived threats, including laws on counter-terrorism, counter-espionage, cybersecurity, foreign non-government organizations, national intelligence and data security. In Hong Kong, a sweeping national security law was imposed by Beijing to stamp out dissent after huge democracy protests roiled the city.

Persons: Xi Jinping, ” Xi, “, Xi, Bill Bishop, Mintz, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, party’s National Security Commission, Xinhua, Bain & Company, Mintz Group, Astellas Pharma Locations: Hong Kong, Communist, Beijing, China, People’s Republic of China, American

☆ Elon Musk: CEOs flock to China as risks to trade and investment rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

To drum up business, Chinese leaders have urged foreign companies to invest more in the country, promising them an open and level playing field. “The interests of the United States and China are intertwined like conjoined twins,” he was quoted as saying by the foreign ministry. Over time, “there will be less trade” between China and the United States, Dimon predicted. The move was seen as retaliation for restrictions the United States has imposed on Chinese chipmakers. The interests of the United States and China are intertwined like conjoined twins.

Persons: Elon, Laxman, Jamie Dimon, Qin Gang, Tesla, Elon Musk, Musk, ”, Warren Buffett, Dimon’s, Dimon, That’s, Bain, “ who’s, ” Michael Hart, Ben Cavender, Nick Marro, Tim Cook, Cook, Marro, ‘, ” —, Sophie Jeong, Martha Zhou Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Tesla, Starbucks, JPMorgan, Apple, Samsung, Aramco, Volkswagen, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Foreign, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Reuters, China’s Foreign, Shanghai’s Communist Party, Bloomberg, Group, American Chamber of Commerce, CNN, British, of Commerce, China Market Research Group, US, Micron, Economist Intelligence Unit, “ Companies, China Development Forum Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, United States, Shanghai, Taiwan, Washington, New York, American, Xinjiang

☆ Shein partners with Reliance in major India comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Shein is plotting a major comeback in India, nearly three years after it was booted out of the country. The fast fashion giant is partnering with the retail arm of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, a Shein spokesperson confirmed Friday. “We can confirm Shein’s partnership with Reliance Retail and have no additional comment at this time,” a Shein spokesperson said. A powerful partnerIts new partnership with Reliance Retail, which bills itself as the country’s largest retailer, could be a game-changer. Shein has said it doesn’t have any suppliers in the Xinjiang region, and it has zero tolerance for forced labor.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN — Shein, Mukesh Ambani’s, Shein, Bain, “, Sania Farooqui Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Industries, Wall Street, Financial Times, Reliance, Reliance Retail, Burberry, Apple, US Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: Hong Kong, India, Zara, China, Singapore, ”, Washington, Xinjiang, New Delhi

☆ Microsoft-backed identification verification startup Onfido acquires US counterpart Airside for undisclosed fee
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

British digital identity startup Onfido has made its second acquisition. The TPG Growth-backed firm has purchased US counterpart Airside for an undisclosed sum. British digital identity company Onfido has made its second acquisition to date, snapping up US counterpart Airside for an undisclosed fee. Onfido boss Tuchen said Airside solved a "critical problem" that will change how people prove their identities. "To date, digital identity has evolved by digitizing the process of identity verification in the physical world," he said.

☆ China's tech feud with the US is heating up
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Joe Mcdonald | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China is clamping down on the use of computer chips from US tech giant Micron Technologies. China's government claims Micron products have unspecified "serious network security risks." It's the latest development in the United States' tech feud with China. They import more than $300 billion worth of foreign chips every year. Beijing is pouring billions of dollars into trying to accelerate chip development and reduce the need for foreign technology.

No one was present when Reuters visited the Hong Kong office of Mintz during business hours, with the doors locked and lights off. China's State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Hong Kong government said it did not comment on individual business decisions. Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against mainly Muslim Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang, including the mass use of forced labour. Reporting by James Pomfret in Hong Kong, Engen Than in Shanghai and Hong Kong Newsroom; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's economy is growing again. So why are investors dumping stocks?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Investors trimmed their exposure to China amid economic uncertainty in the country, rising geopolitical tensions and Beijing’s crackdown on international consulting firms. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index has lost more than 5% since April 18. Another concern for global investors is the country’s “fundamental investability,” he said, referring to geopolitical and Chinese policy risks. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of the world’s largest pension funds, has closed its Hong Kong-based China equity investment team. “The more cracks appear in Western economies,” the more global investors will need to put money into Chinese assets, he added.

[1/3] The U.S. corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group's office is seen in Hong Kong, China, May 18, 2023. No one was present when Reuters visited the Hong Kong office of Mintz during business hours, with the doors locked and lights off. China's State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Hong Kong government said it did not comment on individual business decisions. Reporting by James Pomfret in Hong Kong, Engen Than in Shanghai and Hong Kong Newsroom; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A clash of private equity titansIn most years, the $2.7 billion takeover of a German software company wouldn’t attract much attention. Silver Lake on Wednesday kicked off a tender offer for Software AG shares, at 32 euros ($34.60) a share. Together with a 5 percent stake that the firm acquired in the open market, Silver Lake owns about 30 percent of the German company. (That campaign led Silver Lake to increase its takeover bid from €30 a share.) It is rare to see private equity firms, which generally seek friendly deals, pursuing an unsolicited takeover offer that management has opposed.

☆ Silver Lake submits offer document for Software AG
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, May 17 (Reuters) - Silver Lake officially submitted its offer document for Software AG (SOWGn.DE) on Wednesday, almost a month after announcing a 2.4 billion euro ($2.64 billion) takeover bid. In its offer document, Silver Lake reiterated that it intends to delist Software AG as soon as practically possible after the transaction. It has secured 30.1% of the share capital through a binding agreement with company founder Peter Schnell's Software AG Foundation, a charitable foundation and longstanding anchor shareholder, and through purchases on the stock exchange. Software AG's management and supervisory boards support Silver Lake despite Bain's higher offer, drawing criticism from minority shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Wednesday. Software AG's chairman of the board of directors, Silver Lake partner Christian Lucas, was absent from the AGM which was run by an external lawyer.

☆ Fact Check-New York prison barge not being transported to Guam or ‘Gitmo’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A New York City prison barge is not being moved to Guam or the Guantanamo Bay detention center known as “Gitmo,” according to officials in the New York City Department of Corrections and the U.S. Southern Command. The base includes a military prison, known colloquially as Gitmo. A New York City Department of Corrections spokesperson also said in an email that the photograph shows the Vernon C. Bain Center located in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Vernon C. Bain Center is an 800-bed prison that houses inmates for the New York City Department of Corrections. The prison barge was set up in 1992, intended as a temporary facility to accommodate New York’s growing inmate population, the New York Times reported in 2019 (here).

☆ China's security crackdown could signal new realities for foreign investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Last Monday, state broadcaster CCTV singled out a consulting company for not complying with China's national security laws. "It may seem a paradox," said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore who studies Chinese foreign policy. So much of what is now regarded as national security or state secrets is not sufficiently defined or classified. This includes passing a data security law in 2021 on the protection of information involving national and economic security and on issues of important public interest. "To have multiple companies involved now in this crackdown and the restriction of financial data to foreigners, it appears that Chinese security departments are on to something larger."

Private equity firm Silver Lake has offered to buy Software AG for 32 euros per share, valuing the German software developer at 2.37 billion euros ($2.61 billion) and said it plans to take the company private. Software AG has backed the Silver Lake offer despite a higher 34-euro a share non-binding bid coming in from Bain-backed Rocket Software earlier this month. Some investors argue that the Silver Lake offer undervalues Software AG and that minorities never fare well in delistings. Software AG has faced criticism from shareholders over its handling of the sales process. Software AG, Rocket Software and Silver Lake all declined to comment.

☆ Premarket stocks: Wall Street's 'fear gauge' is rising as US debt talks drag on
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Markets will get volatile, maybe the stock market will go down, the Treasury markets will have their own problems,” he said. But this fear of market volatility isn’t going away. A similar fight around the debt ceiling in 2011 spurred a serious bout of market volatility. Wall Street’s key measure of volatility, the VIX, reached two year highs and soared more than 35% in just one day. Wall Street typically uses the VIX, known as the market’s “fear gauge,” as a way to measure how investors feel about financial and economic uncertainties.

☆ Move over McKinsey: This Gen Z founder is offering fellow grads an alternative to delayed start dates at consulting firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

He's attracting fellow 2023 graduates whose start dates were delayed at major consulting firms. These delays mean recent grads won't be pulling in big salaries from the major consulting firms — at least not right away. InstagramForced to rethink their futuresMany business students follow a traditional path from the Ivy League to top investment-banking or consulting firms. One, who has an offer to start at McKinsey in February, told Ou he is considering going to law school instead. By assisting gig workers, Ou expects Talentifyr's workers will see a direct and positive impact from their work.

Japan's Kioxia and U.S. chipmaker Western Digital have been hit hard by plunging market demand and oversupply. Combining their flash memory businesses could boost competitiveness against rivals like South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS). Western Digital did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Kioxia, previously Toshiba Memory, was sold by Toshiba Corp (6502.T) in 2018 to a consortium led by Bain Capital for $18 billion. Kioxia and Western Digital were in merger talks in 2021 before the negotiations stalled over a series of issues including valuation discrepancies.

Andreessen Horowitz is preparing to launch a fund of funds to invest in other startup backers. A16z has already been courting up-and-coming fund managers at events in San Francisco and LA. The venture-capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz has in recent months been in discussions to form a fund of funds focused on early-stage investing, according to multiple people familiar with the project. In recent months, the firm has started to court up-and-coming fund managers with events in San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to three sources familiar with the firm's plans. Partners at crossover fund Tiger Global tried a similar strategy in recent years, committing $1 billion to back an array of early-stage venture funds.

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