Tag: FNC

Health Care

Neusoft Partners with Hony Capital and Goldman Sachs to Create the New Champion in the Global Healthcare Community

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Neusoft introduces strategic investors for medical equipment and healthcare management businesses to create new momentum for future growth and accelerate its footprint in the global healthcare market

BEIJING, Dec. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Neusoft Corporation (SSE: 600718), a leading IT solution & service provider in China, today announced that Neusoft intends to sign an agreement with Hony Capital, Goldman Sachs, Neusoft Holdings and other investors, to make investments on Neusoft’s two subsidiaries, Neusoft Medical Systems Co., Ltd. (“Neusoft Medical Systems”) and Neusoft Xikang Healthcare Technology Co., Ltd. (“Neusoft Xikang”). This announcement demonstrates that Neusoft will leverage the power of capital markets to further promote business model transformation, and build an open platform for its healthcare business together with strategic investors to accelerate the expansion in the dynamic global healthcare market. According to statistics, this round of financing for Neusoft Medical Systems and Neusoft Xikang will both set new records as the largest single financing respectively in China’s medical equipment industry and the Internet-based Medical and Healthcare Management sector, while the financing of Neusoft Xikang will be one of the largest single financing in the global Internet-based medical and healthcare management sector.

Hony Capital, Goldman Sachs, Neusoft Holdings, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Frontline BioVentures and other investors will invest 1.6 billion RMB to Neusoft Medical Systems, and also spend 1.13 billion RMB to purchase part of the equities in Neusoft Medical Systems from Neusoft Corporation. Whereas Hony Capital, Goldman Sachs, Neusoft Holdings and other investors will invest 170 million USD to Neusoft Xikang. Both Neusoft Medical Systems and Neusoft Xikang will set the share incentive scheme for the management teams and key employees. After the completion of these transactions, Neusoft Corporation will still be the largest shareholder of Neusoft Medical Systems and Neusoft Xikang, holding 33.35% of equities and 32.81% of equities respectively.

As a leading digital medical imaging equipments provider in China, Neusoft Medical Systems has successfully developed a series of medical imaging products, such as CT, MRI, X-Ray, Ultrasound and PET etc. Its products have been sold to over 90 countries and regions around the globe, serving nearly 8,000 medical institutions worldwide.

Neusoft Xikang is dedicated to becoming a global leading provider of cloud-based medical and healthcare management services. Based on O2O model, it builds an ecosystem for healthcare management & medical services by connecting medical institutions, doctors, families and individuals through technologies of big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, and mobile Internet. At present, Neusoft Xikang has been promoting its “Healthy City” and “Healthy Community” initiatives in over 30 cities in China and has built a service network covering more than 5,000 urban and rural communities and benefiting over 20 million populations.

By introducing the strategic investors who have significant resources and experience in the healthcare industry, Neusoft will not only obtain financial support and resources for its healthcare business, but also define different business models for various businesses to generate new vitality for growth. This effort will be part of Neusoft’s new strategy to support its diversified businesses, including IT solutions, medical equipment, cloud-based medical and healthcare management businesses, to make the equity ownership structure and incentive system better match with the business model. At the same time, using the funds received from the equities transfer of Neusoft Medical Systems, Neusoft Corporation will invest more in big data, cloud technology and Internet solutions, to enhance its leading market position and guarantee future sustainable growth.

Dr. Liu Jiren, Chairman & CEO of Neusoft said: “This round of financing will release the energy Neusoft has accumulated in the past years in medical equipment and healthcare management, which will also be a strategic move for Neusoft to define different business models and incentives to maximize the value of its businesses. Neusoft Medical Systems and Neusoft Xikang will gain new momentum for growth by fully integrating the resources and experience of Hony Capital, Goldman Sachs and other strategic investors, and contribute more to the medical and healthcare industry. This restructuring will be a historical turning point in Neusoft’s development, and we are dedicated to become an active innovator of the industrial Internet application and a leader in cloud-based medical and healthcare services.”

Mr. John Zhao, Founder and CEO of Hony Capital said: “Healthcare industry is one of Hony Capital’s primary focuses as we have spent ten years on the investment of pharmaceuticals, medical equipments and medical services. China’s central government has advocated market force through adjustment of policies, and people care more and more about life quality nowadays. This makes the marriage between healthcare and mobile Internet very promising. Neusoft is very experienced in information technologies and healthcare industry. Dr. Liu Jiren, needless to say, is a creative and innovative entrepreneur. Hony believes in the market potential of Neusoft Medical Systems and Neusoft Xikang in medical equipment and healthcare management. We have invested in a few pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, and look forward to collaborating with Neusoft to further consolidate the industries. Together with Neusoft, Hony is committed to supporting China’s enterprises to become leading “product creators” and service providers in the global market.”

Ms. Stephanie Hui, Partner and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs said that the emerging information technologies are dramatically reshaping the global healthcare industry, especially in fast-growing emerging markets. The investment by Goldman Sachs on Neusoft Medical Systems and Neusoft Xikang is based on our expectation for the dynamic medical equipment and healthcare management market, and the future potential of China’s leading enterprises in this area. We will help to accelerate the development of Neusoft Medical Systems and Neusoft Xikang by leveraging our resources and experience in the international market.

Commenting on the investment in Neusoft Medical Systems, Ms. Suyi Kim, Managing Director of Private Equity Asia at CPPIB said, “We believe in the long-term growth potential of the Chinese healthcare industry given solid fundamental drivers. Neusoft Medical Systems has established itself as a leading domestic player in the sector with strong R&D capability, renowned brand, high quality product offerings and a high caliber management team.”

About Neusoft Corporation

As an IT solution and service provider, Neusoft provides innovative information technology – enabled solutions and services to meet the demands arising from social transformation, to shape new life styles for individuals and to create values for the society. Focusing on software technology, Neusoft provides industry solutions and product engineering solutions, related software products & platforms, and services. Established in China in 1991, Neusoft has 20,000 employees worldwide today, and it has 10 software R&D bases and a comprehensive marketing & service network covering more than 60 cities across China, as well as subsidiaries in the United States, Japan, Europe, the Middle East, the South America, etc. It was the first listed software company in China, also the country’s first one in the industry that had received both CMM Level 5 and CMMI V1.2 Level 5 certifications. For more information, please visit: www.neusoft.com.

About Hony Capital

Hony Capital, founded in 2003 and sponsored by Legend Holdings Corporation, specializes in private equity investment. It focuses on the Chinese market with “value creation by providing value-added services” as its investment philosophy. Hony Capital currently manages seven private equity funds (five USD funds and two RMB funds) and one RMB mezzanine fund with more than USD 7.0 billion assets under management. It has invested in nearly 80 companies in the areas of pharmaceutical and healthcare, machinery and equipment, consumer products and channels, media and entertainment, financial services and others. Hony Capital is reputed as an “expert of SOE restructuring” for its achievements in restructuring of SOEs and exploration of mixed ownership. In recent years, it has also proactively practiced in-bound cross-border investment and constantly promoted financial and policy innovation. For more information, please visit: www.honycapital.com.

About Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.

About Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to pay current benefits on behalf of 18 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, New York City and São Paulo, CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At September 30, 2014, the CPP Fund totalled C$234.4 billion. For more information, please visit www.cppib.com.

For more information, please contact:

Evelyn Tang
Branding & Marketing Management Center
Neusoft Corporation
Phone: +86-24-8366-5663
Email: tangyi@neusoft.com

Health Care

AposTherapy Completes New Financing; Announces Global Expansion Initiatives

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– Names Dr. David Levy, Donald Almeida, Dr. Michael Stocker, Rt Hon Alan Milburn To Expanded Board

NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — AposTherapy announced that it has completed a new round of financing and is launching a global initiative to offer its technology and treatment through premier physical therapy centers and orthopedics practices. To date, the company has provided drug-free and surgery-free treatment to over 50,000 patients worldwide who suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee.

The company also announced an expanded Board of Directors, whose members include some of the most accomplished leaders in medicine, managed care, public health and healthcare consulting.

AposTherapy CEO Dr. David Levy, who joined the company in August, made the announcements. Dr. Levy is leading the initiative to transform AposTherapy from operators of company-owned and company-run clinics to providers of technology and training for established healthcare centers, “enabling us to operate more efficiently, grow more rapidly and to bring AposTherapy to so many more osteoarthritis patients seeking increased mobility and relief from pain.”

The Board of Directors, representing both Series A and Series B investors, comprises:

  • Dr. Avi Elbaz, an orthopedic surgeon and Dr. Amit Mor, M.D., AposTherapy founders.
  • Dr. David Levy, former Principal and leader of the PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) global healthcare practice, founder of Franklin Health Inc., one of the nation’s first care management companies, and a primary care physician.
  • Ruti Alon, General Partner of Pitango General Capital, an expert in high-tech medical and life sciences startups.
  • Donald V. Almeida, former Vice Chairman of PwC Global, where he led its Global Markets and Industries program, including the healthcare, pharmaceutical, life sciences and government practices.
  • Dr. Michael Stocker, former President and CEO of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield of New York, former Chairman of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and former president of CIGNA Health Plans.
  • Rt Hon Alan Milburn, former Secretary of State for Health for the United Kingdom and Member of the U.K. Parliament from 1992-2010.

AposTherapy is a 10-year-old company, founded in Israel. Its therapy centers on a computerized analysis of a patient’s gait, and prescription of a personalized, patent-protected shoe-like medical device that patients wear for a short time each day to bring the body into optimal alignment and retrain the muscles to adopt a healthier walking pattern for lasting pain relief and improved mobility. Many patients facing knee replacements have been able to postpone or, in some cases, avoid surgery by using AposTherapy.

Dr. Levy said, “As an adjunct to surgical procedures, AposTherapy is an important tool in the treatment of osteoarthritis. In addition to its therapeutic benefits, AposTherapy can reduce some of the financial burden on the health care system.”

In the U.K. and Singapore, where the company runs its own clinics, it has also been executing its new strategy for the past two months. It has appointed leading physical therapy centers in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Southampton, including Physio 1st, Premier Physical Healthcare, and former Olympics Physiotherapist Kim Waters’ Therapeutics Southampton. In Singapore, it has appointed Core Concepts, that country’s largest private physiotherapy group in that country.

In the U.S., where it has operated a clinic in Manhattan for the past year, AposTherapy has appointed its first providers — in Manhattan, Long Island, Westchester and Putnam Counties. The first U.S. provider, One Physical Therapy in Syosset NY, reports that it has treated some 40 patients since August, with all of them reporting positive results to date. Dr. Levy said that the company plans to expand to additional markets here.

AposTherapy was founded in 2004 in Israel by Dr. Elbaz and Dr. Mor, the company’s Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively. The company operates three of its own centers in Israel. “Not a day passes,” Dr. Levy said, “that I don’t reflect on the genius of our founders, Avi and Amit, whose vision and persistence got us where we are, and on the amazing team they have assembled to help get us there. We are entering a new phase of growth and achievement, and I am truly grateful and excited to be part of this journey.”

Health Care

CARsgen Completes Series A Financing

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– Plans to Initiate Clinical Studies of Proprietary CAR-T Cell Immunotherapy for Selected Solid Tumors —

SHANGHAI, Nov. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — CARsgen, a leader in the development of Chimeric Antigen Receptors T (CAR-T) cell immunotherapy to treat a variety of cancers, today announced the completion of a series A financing led by BVCF, a China-based healthcare private equity fund.

CARsgen is an immunotherapy company focused on the development of new therapeutics for liver, lung, stomach and brain cancers. In collaboration with Shanghai Cancer Institute and Shanghai Renji Hospital, the company plans to initiate clinical studies for its lead therapeutic KJgpc3-001. KJgpc3-001 takes T-cells extracted from the patient, genetically modifies them to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) for glypican-3 (GPC3), and then returns to the body to attack the liver cancer. GPC3 is overexpressed in the majority of liver cancers (hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and in preclinical studies, KJgpc3-001 eradicated HCC cells.

“HCC is the fifth most common cancer and the third most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide,” said Li Zonghai, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of CARsgen. “The vast majority of liver cancer patients live in China and unfortunately, it remains underdiagnosed and inadequately treated, with a very high rate of death within the first five years of diagnosis. CARsgen’s game-changing CAR-T approach offers new hope for HCC patients. We are proud to complete this financing led by BVCF, a leading healthcare investor in China, and look forward to accelerating our work to bring revolutionary CAR-T cell therapy to HCC patients, and eventually to other cancer patients as well.”

Dr. Zhi Yang, the managing partner of BVCF, “We are very excited to be involved in the evolution of CARsgen. The leadership team has a strong background in cancer biology, cancer immunology, and antibody development, as well as clinic cellular therapy technology and has assembled a strong proprietary position in CAR-T cell therapy specifically. Additionally, CARsgen has established a great working relationship with several prominent hospitals in Shanghai, including Renji Hospital, the first western medicine hospital in Shanghai.

About Liver Cancer in China
Liver cancer, or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the third most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Although surgery is the most effective treatment for HCC, tumor recurrence after a curative liver resection is very high, and the 5-year survival rate remains only 10%. Importantly, because the majority of patients with HCC are diagnosed at a late disease stage, potentially curative therapies, including chemotherapy are often ineffective, with significant side effects taking an even larger toll. There remains an unmet need for new therapies to treat this deadly disease.

About CARsgen
CARsgen is a leading immunotherapy company focused on the development of new chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapeutics for liver, lung, stomach and brain cancers. The company has relationships with Shanghai Cancer Institute and Shanghai Renji Hospital, plans to initiate clinical trials for KJgpc3-001, a glypican-3 (GPC3)-directed CAR-T cell therapy for liver cancer, and is advancing CAR-T therapies for lung and brain cancers in parallel. Funded by leading venture capital firm BVCF, CARsgen is well-positioned to bring a novel cancer therapeutics to the market in China and worldwide.

Health Care

DXY to Receive US$70 Million from Tencent

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BEIJING, Sept. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Ting Ting Group (“DXY”), the largest online healthcare service community in China, today announces that it will receive a strategic investment of US$70 million from Tencent Holdings Limited (“Tencent“, SEHK 00700), a leading provider of comprehensive Internet services in China, in exchange for a minority equity stake of DXY on a fully diluted and as converted basis. The transaction is expected to close in the near future. 

Following the closing of this investment, DXY will work with Tencent on a series of initiatives to bring its services to Tencent’s various platforms, including exploring possible services to integrate into Weixin and Mobile QQ. DXY has unique medical resources and the largest network of doctors in China. Its team is made up of medical and life science professionals with deep expertise and solid understanding of the healthcare sector in China.

DXY plans to invest the capital received from this investment and other resources into developing healthcare products for doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and consumers. Its priority is to create better products and content for doctors in China and to bring doctors and pharmaceutical (medical device) companies together on a single platform that can be accessed through multiple channels and allows for a more legally compliant and effective way of exchanging ideas and knowledge. Leveraging big data technology, DXY will also provide more accurate and higher value human resource solutions to healthcare companies and medical institutions in China.

Moving from servicing doctors and healthcare companies to consumer healthcare is one of DXY’s goals. This is also why DXY chose to raise capital even when it is already earning sizable profits currently. In the past year, DXY has been investing in and exploring opportunities related to consumer healthcare. DXY’s products, such as the Family Medicine App and DXY Doctor, accumulated millions of users even without spending on marketing. Looking ahead, DXY plans to launch products in three categories — Weixin-based products, mobile apps, and Web-based products — to continue to provide reliable medical and healthcare information and services to consumers.Given the prevalence of fake and inaccurate medical and healthcare information in China, which negatively impacts consumers, DXY is especially focused on ensuring the “reliability” of the information it provides through its platform. This is also the reason behind DXY’s decision to enter into consumer healthcare.

DXY also plans to experiment with O2O services, providing doctors in China with a platform and resources to carry out their medical practice on the go thereby fully unlocking the value of their expertise. There will also be O2O services aimed at patients that offer patients a better user experience.

DXY’s founder and President, Stanley Li, said, “Growth in the healthcare industry is much slower compared to other industries. Its business value relies on professional and in-depth cultivation, not just capital operations. Both DXY and Tencent attach great importance to the social value of and responsibilities associated with healthcare industry. What’s more gratifying is that Tencent and DXY appreciate and acknowledge each other’s values. In addition, our resources supplement each other. For DXY, in particular, the collaboration implies greater potential for healthcare business development through optimal utilization of Weixin and Mobile QQ platforms.”

Martin Lau, President of Tencent, said, “Tencent is an integrated Internet services company with a strong sense of social responsibility, we have been closely following the healthcare industry for a while. With a rich pool of over two million professional doctors, we understand DXY is an industry leader in the healthcare industry. Tencent is capable of connecting DXY’s talented pool of healthcare professionals and their medical knowledge database with tens of millions of users. This improves the ease of which our users can access healthcare information and professional medical help. Tencent lives out its commitment to deliver socially reliable products by providing more valuable, high-quality services to both doctors and consumers in China.”

Previously, DXY completed two rounds of investments from DCM and Shunwei China Internet Fund. Following this round of investment, DXY’s founding management team will continue to have a majority stake in DXY and have a majority in its board of directors. David Feng, Vice President of DXY and Richard Peng, Vice President of Tencent, will become DXY’s board members.

About Tencent

Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Every day, hundreds of millions of people communicate, share experiences, consume information, seek entertainment, and shop online through our integrated platforms. Tencent’s diversified services include QQ, Weixin and WeChat for communications; Qzone for social networking; QQ Game Platform for online games; QQ.com for information; as well as our eCommerce services.

Tencent was founded in Shenzhen in 1998 and went public on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004. Tencent has been one of the 50 constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index since June 10, 2008, under stock code 00700. Tencent seeks to evolve with the Internet by investing in innovation, providing a hospitable environment for its partners, and staying close to its users.

About DXY

DXY (DXY.cn) is the world’s largest online professional community of physicians, medical institutions, healthcare providers, and life science researchers. It was established in 2000 and currently has over 4 million registered members in China and other countries. DXY’s mission is to facilitate communication, information sharing, and collaboration among medical professionals within all specialties of clinical medicine, basic medical research, life sciences, and pharmaceutical sciences.

Health Care

China Cord Blood Corporation Receives Notice of Transaction Regarding its 7% Senior Convertible Note Due 2017 Held by Golden Meditech

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HONG KONG, Aug. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — China Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE: CO) (“CCBC” or the “Company”), China’s leading provider of cord blood collection, laboratory testing, hematopoietic stem cell processing, and stem cell storage services, today announced that the Company has been informed that Magnum Opus International Holdings Limited (“Magnum”), a private vehicle that is controlled by CCBC Chairman Mr. Yuen KAM and involves the CCBC management team, together with Cordlife Group Limited (“Cordlife”), a Singapore listed company and substantial shareholder of the Company, have agreed to purchase the Company’s outstanding 7% senior convertible note due 2017 (the “Note”) held by Golden Meditech Holdings Limited (“Golden Meditech”), CCBC’s parent company, for a total consideration of approximately $88.1 million.

The Note was originally issued by the Company to Golden Meditech in 2012 with an aggregate principal amount of $50 million. Magnum and Cordlife are each obligated to purchase 50% of the Note, subject to customary closing conditions and satisfaction of all relevant approvals and consents, including but not limited to the approval of Golden Meditech’s independent shareholders.

About China Cord Blood Corporation

China Cord Blood Corporation is the first and largest umbilical cord blood banking operator in China in terms of geographical coverage and the only cord blood banking operator with multiple licenses.  Under current PRC government regulations, only one licensed cord blood banking operator is permitted to operate in each licensed region and only seven licenses have been authorized as of today.  China Cord Blood Corporation provides cord blood collection, laboratory testing, hematopoietic stem cell processing, and stem cell storage services.  For more information, please visit our website at http://www.chinacordbloodcorp.com.        

About Magnum Opus International Holdings Limited

Magnum Opus International Holdings Limited is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. It is controlled by Mr. Yuen KAM, CCBC’s chairman of the Board, and involves the CCBC management team. Mr. Yuen KAM is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Meditech.

About Cordlife Group Limited (Bloomberg stock code: CLGL SP)

Incorporated in May 2001, Cordlife Group Limited is a multi-product healthcare company catering to the mother and child segment and a leading cord blood and umbilical cord lining banking services provider. Today, Cordlife operates the largest[1] private cord blood banks in each of Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia, and is amongst the top three market leaders in Hong Kong and India. Cordlife also holds approximately 10.02% and 31.81% stakes in China Cord Blood Corporation and StemLife Berhad respectively, both of which are their countries’ largest cord blood bank operators. For more information, please visit www.cordlife.com.

[1] Source : Deloitte & Touche Financial Advisory Services Limited report, 10 April 2013

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events, performance and results of operations, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, product and service demand and acceptance, changes in technology, economic conditions, the impact of competition and pricing, government regulation, and other risks contained in statements filed from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All such forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, and whether made by or on behalf of the Company, are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

For more information, please contact:

China Cord Blood Corporation
Investor Relations Department
Tel: (+852) 3605-8180
Email: ir@chinacordbloodcorp.com

ICR, Inc.
Mr. Bill Zima
Tel: (+86) 10-6583-7511 (China) or (+1) 646-405-5185 (U.S.)
Email: william.zima@icrinc.com

Food and Beverage

Maybank PE Leads Series D Financing For YPX Cayman Holdings

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Looking to capitalize on the strong growth opportunities in China’s food & beverage industry, Maybank PE, the private equity arm of Maybank, made its maiden investment in China by investing in YPX

SHANGHAI, Aug. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — YPX Cayman Holdings Co. (“the Company” or “YPX”), a leading quick service restaurant company headquartered in Shanghai, announced today the closing of its series D financing round of USD 25M. MAM PE Asia Fund I (Labuan) LLP, a fund managed by Maybank Private Equity Sdn Bhd (“Maybank PE”), is the lead investor in the latest financing round, with follow-on investments from existing investors such as LionRock Capital, Ignition Capital, as well as renowned individual investors such as Mr. Koh Boon Hwee, former DBS Bank and Singapore Airlines Chairman, and Mr. Peter Tan, former President of McDonalds Greater China and ex-CEO of Burger King for Asia Pacific. Series D financing proceeds will be utilized to grow YPX directly-owned stores and to expand YPX’s franchising system.

Cloud 9 Store

Cloud 9 Store

 

Three-cup Chicken

Three-cup Chicken

“We are truly excited to have an investment from a fund seeded by Malayan Banking Berhad, or better known as Maybank. Maybank is one of South East Asia’s largest banks, and the largest in Malaysia by market capitalisation. Named one of the Top 20 strongest banks in the world consecutively in 2013 & 2014 (by Bloomberg Markets Magazine July / August 2014), Maybank through its private equity arm has a very rigorous due diligence process, and we are honored to have passed their stringent test on our business and management. It is a very significant event for me and the Company to have the fund investing in us. Maybank PE brings a wealth of experience to help us grow our business,” says Chris Tay, CEO and founder of YPX Cayman Holdings.

Mr. Pneh Tee Keong, CEO of Maybank PE, says, “We are very pleased with this outcome. The upside for this segment in China is enormous, given the increasing middle class population. We are also comforted by the fact that we are investing in a sound business, and backing an experienced management team to help us navigate through the intricacies of operating in this market. We are very excited to be a part of what I believe will be a successful partnership with Chris, his team and all the other shareholders.”

With this fresh funding, YPX will be able to grow more stores via direct-owned operations as well as franchisees across China. The company will also allocate some proceeds for R&D to diversify its menu offering, brand awareness and information technology to support its future growth. “Serving good quality, value for money food has been the hallmark of YPX since its inception. This year, we have continued to focus on improving our food quality and safety standards; we see this as an ongoing pursuit that will continue to underpin all that we do at YPX. 2014 is also our inaugural year for franchising, and we are very committed to being a responsible franchisor. We will set up a robust system to support and train our franchisees as they are in all ways business people and want a good return on their investments,” says Tay.

“In the past, franchising had an undesirable reputation in China, due to a laggard monitoring system and a mismatch of values between franchisors and franchisees. The industry was further tarnished by unethical practices by franchisors who emphasized short-term gains over creating a sustainable brand name. However things are changing, albeit slowly, and the market is maturing for the better; franchisees are more informed and educated than before. We want to be the first one to stand out as the most sought after and most responsible franchisor in China. Needless to say, this will not slow down our own corporate-owned stores. Not only will this positively add to our revenue growth, it will also provide support to our franchised stores. In addition to this, we are true believers in the use of information technology in the F&B industry, when often times IT takes a back seat in our kind of business. So we will invest heavily on IT in the coming years. The hottest potential is that China is still urbanizing rapidly and its consumer market is going to be the largest in the world in the next few years, if it isn’t already,” adds Tay.

YPX’s first brand is Cloud9, a Taiwanese Fast Casual Restaurant chain, which currently has more than 40 stores in 12 cities. Founded in late 2010, Cloud9 was seed-funded by Qiming Venture Partners, well known for its highly successful investment in Xiaomi. Over the next year, YPX hopes to add two more brands, be it from the USA or another country that has good brand equity amongst Chinese consumers. Tay says, “We will not add another brand for the sake of adding a brand. It has to have the same core values as the first brand: serving a majority of the Chinese customers with the best food at the most affordable pricing. We have strict principles that we adhere to when developing and nurturing a brand. We do not want to segregate any spectrum of the customers. We want brands that can understand the Chinese consumers’ needs and always staying relevant. And it has to be scalable at the same time. We have a solid management team and our reputation of being professional, reliable and accountable attracts many brands from overseas to want to work with us to expand in China.”

On the topic of food safety, Tay adds, “food safety is of paramount concern in China. YPX will not compromise on food safety for the sake of growth as these two important objectives are not contradicting. We can do both. A high moral standard and superior transparent management culture are held in very high esteem in YPX.”

Mr. Daniel Tseung, MD of LionRock Capital, says, “We are delighted to have a Maybank associated fund as the lead investor in the latest Series D round and look forward to working with Maybank PE, other YPX shareholders, and the company management team in strengthening YPX leading position in the Quick Service Restaurant industry in China.”

Mr. Rich Tong of Ignition Partners says, “This latest investment shows that YPX is one of the best teams in the highly competitive food and beverage market. We congratulate them on this great milestone.”

About YPX www.ypxfood.com

Founded in Shanghai in 2010, YPX Cayman focuses on the management of casual F&B chains in China. CLOUD 9, the Company’s first brand, mainly focuses on the Taiwanese casual F&B and snacks segment. The brand now has more than 40 stores across China including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Changzhou, and Hefei. The Company’s management team has a combined F&B chain management experience of over 80 years, having worked in brands like KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, Dicos, Dairy Queen and Yoshinoya. The Company aims to be a leading casual F&B platform in China.

About Maybank PE www.maybank-am.com

Maybank PE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Maybank Asset Management Group Berhad (“MAMG”), which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysian Banking Berhad (Maybank). Maybank PE targets minority investments in the consumer and consumer related segments across the Asian region.

Its parent, MAMG, is Maybank’s asset management business unit and offers investors a diverse range of investment solutions. MAMG has in-depth experience in managing investments ranging from equity, fixed income to money market instruments mainly on behalf of and for corporations, institutions, insurance and takaful companies and individual clients. In addition to that, MAMG also offers unit trust and wholesale funds. It has regional footprint and on-the-ground presence in key markets of the region – Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

About LionRock Capital http://www.lionrockcapitalhk.com

LionRock Capital provides strategic, financial, and corporate governance support for growth stage companies in Greater China. It is supported by some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and family organizations, who also serve as valuable resources for LionRock’s investee companies and investment partners. LionRock seeks to build active, value-added, long-term relationships with company management teams and investors; its Managing Directors & Senior Advisors are internationally recognized leaders in business, investment, and corporate governance. The firm’s team of seasoned Asian professionals has a demonstrated track record of successfully helping management teams build & develop their businesses in Greater China and beyond.

About Ignition Capital http://www.igncap.com

Ignition Capital is the growth equity arm of a $3 billion global fund group which provides emerging industry leaders the investment and operations support to help them reach their long-term potential, in the technology, communications, consumer and healthcare sectors. Over the last 14 years, they’ve been working with a broad array of companies that have become market leaders in technology, telecommunications, consumer services and healthcare. They have seen their companies deal with difficult economic situations while still growing dramatically to either become public companies, or be sold to larger market leaders.

Photo: http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20140822/0861406013-a
Photo: http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20140822/0861406013-b

Economy

DoubleDutch Announces $19 Million in Series D Financing

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— New Funding led by Mithril Capital to Further Develop Industry-leading Mobile Event Apps and Expand Global Reach

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Mobile event app leader DoubleDutch today announced the close of $19 million in Series D funding led by Mithril Capital Management. Previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Index Ventures and Bullpen Capital also participated, along with Singapore-based Enspire Capital. Ajay Royan, co-founder and managing general partner of Mithril, joins the DoubleDutch board.

“More than three years into our journey, we continue to see signs that the market for data driven event technology is massive, underserved, and ripe for a winner-take-all outcome,” said Lawrence Coburn, CEO of DoubleDutch. “In Mithril, we have found a partner that matches our ambition and outlook. Our mutual goal is to build a durable, independent company that redefines the category.”

DoubleDutch will use the funding to expand its global presence, build out its technical teams to rapidly scale product deployment, and deliver new features to organizers. Globally, more than $500 billion is spent on events and conferences, and marketers worldwide will increasingly need mobile solutions to optimize these enormous spends.

“Conferences compress 90 days of interactions into 72 hours, but unfortunately few of these connections survive re-entry into daily life,” said Ajay Royan, Co-founder and Managing General Partner of Mithril. “While legacy event companies focus on registration or logistics, DoubleDutch’s platform uniquely preserves relationships that foster powerful, sustainable, long-term advantages. They are already working with some of the largest event organizers around the world, and this new investment will allow DoubleDutch to focus on identifying and pursuing enormous new opportunities.”

“Trade shows still constitute the biggest line item on a B2B marketer’s budget, with nearly 20% of [the typical CMO budget] spend committed to live events,” said Laura Ramos, analyst for Forrester Research.[1] “B2B business relationships are built on trust and personal interaction. For this reason, marketers will never be able to banish trade shows from the marketing budget.”[2]

DoubleDutch has raised $37.5 million in funding since its founding in 2011, and their highly flexible mobile event apps have been used by more than 2,000 events globally. A DoubleDutch app provides an unprecedented link between social engagement and actionable data for event organizers to analyze and improve their events in real time.

Founded in 2012 by Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel, Mithril focuses on long-term investments in durable companies positioned to dominate an industry.

About DoubleDutch
DoubleDutch is an award-winning provider of mobile event applications, with a unique focus on capturing and surfacing data from live events. The first to bring a data-driven technology approach to the event industry, DoubleDutch customers include SAP, Proctor & Gamble, Audi, Verizon, and Estee Lauder. http://doubledutch.me

About Mithril Capital Management
Mithril is a global investment firm founded by Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel that provides capital to leading growth companies by partnering with teams who use technology to build transformative and durable businesses, often in industries long overdue for change. Each of these businesses is unique, but all face common challenges to unlocking long-term growth. Mithril helps navigate these critical inflection points by investing in size and with conviction. For more information, please visit: www.mithril.com.

Media Contact

Tristan Kruth, TriplePoint PR
tkruth@triplepointpr.com
+1 (415) 955-8500

Jen Hawkins, DoubleDutch
jen@doubledutch.me
+1 (415) 449-5744

Lindsay Andrews, Sard Verbinnen & Co for Mithril Capital Management (415) 618-8750

[1]

January 21, 2014 AdAge article, “B2B Marketing Budgets Set To Rise 6% in 2014: Forrester”

[2]

January 21, 2014 Forrester Research report, “Focus B2B Marketing Budget Gains On Business Outcomes To Succeed In 2014”
Economy

Secoo.com Announces the Completion of Around 100M in New Financing: Brings Fifth Avenue to China

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BEIJING, July 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Secoo.com, China’s largest luxury and high-end fashion e-commerce company, recently announced the completion of a new round of financing that has raised around US$100 million. The event represents the largest amount of financing raised in one round across the Chinese luxury and high-end fashion e-commerce sector to date.

The financing was led by CMC Capital Partners, with the participation of IDG Capital Partners, Ventech China, Crehol Capital (Mulliez Family Fund), and Vangoo Capital. Silicon Valley Bank also provided a credit line valued at several tens of millions dollars to the company.

According to China Luxury Market Study 2013 released by Bain & Company, Chinese consumers spend 350 billion yuan (approx US$55 billion) buying luxury products annually, about two thirds of which are spent in overseas purchases. As the leading luxury and high-end fashion e-commerce firm in China, Secoo responded to this market trend, providing Chinese high-end consumers with “one-stop” professional luxury services, from the identification, appraisal and sale of luxury products to after-sales maintenance and auction sale of luxury goods. As a result of years of dedicated operations, Secoo now has more than 3 million high-end members and has received acclaim and recognition from the capital market.

Secoo now sells products from hundreds of top international brands. After having formed strategic alliances with several European, American and Japanese name-brand luxury retailers, as well as making available a collection of the most comprehensive and newest limited luxury products worldwide, Secoo.com is already the largest online sales platform of luxury products and high-end fashion products in China. The firm has also established the largest luxury identification, appraisal and maintenance service center in the country, with off-line clubs dotted across mainland China, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Secoo is in the midst of opening more off-line experience clubs in Milan, New York and Paris.

Secoo CEO Li Rixue said, “The funds will mainly be used in our global strategic layout and overseas business expansions, as well as higher budget in marketing, developing its information technology infrastructure. In the future, we will try our best to meet the demands of high-end clients, both in mainland China and abroad, providing them with authentic, seasonal, and desirable luxury products.”

www.secoo.com 
zhuxiaoxuan@secoo.com

ADV Economy PUB

Brandma.Co Received Strategic Investment from Seinosuke Sato

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HONG KONG, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Brandma.Co Limited, the leading brand management and protection expert in China, announced on July 16, 2014 that Mr. Seinosuke Sato has made an early-stage strategic investment to the company. The deal was completed last week in Hong Kong with the terms undisclosed.

Mr. Sato is a renowned entrepreneur and investor in Silicon Valley and Tokyo. His most recent venture is BrainPad Inc., an industry pioneer in the Big Data field, which offers cutting-edge analytical services and solutions to large-scale web portals, as well as serving retail, finance, telecom, and e-commerce enterprises in Japan. “I firmly believe Brandma has already seized the window of opportunity in the China market,” said Mr. Sato. “The team has demonstrated terrific power of execution and is fulfilling the demanding needs for brand protection in China. I will assist Brandma by enhancing its data processing and analytics capability, upgrading its online brand monitoring and fraud detection mechanism, as well as accelerating Brandma’s global expansion strategy.”

“It’s our honor to earn distinguished investors like Sato-san’s recognition of Brandma’s value and share our vision,” said Mr. Ching Chiao, Founder and the CEO of Brandma.Co. “With Sato-san’s guidance and experience, Brandma is advancing to become a world-class technology company. Our existing customers and partners can rest assured that Brandma continues to offer a reliable, scalable and secure platform for protecting their domain names, trademarks, as well as other digital brand assets. Most importantly, we will keep acting proactively and aggressively in acquiring customers to sustain our market leader position in this competitive market.”

Mr. Chiao also serves as an ICANN GNSO Councilor who oversees the global top-level domain name policies, and a Board Member of .asia TLD registry. He founded Brandma.Co Limited in early 2013 and the company has operations in Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong, and Taipei.

Media contact:

Ms. Cathy Peng
+86-10-650084677 (CN)

Economy

Singapore Based Capillary Technologies Raises $14 Million Series B Funding Led by Sequoia Capital and Norwest Venture Partners

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SINGAPORE, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ —

Cloud-Based Integrated Marketing Platform Leader Expands Presence and Partner Ecosystem to Help Retailers Drive Sales through Capillary Intelligent Customer Engagement™ Suite 

Capillary Technologies, the market leader in cloud-based retail customer engagement management, today announced that it has closed a $14 million Series B round of venture financing. This new investment adds to the $17 million of Series A funding received in 2012, providing a sizable balance to fund continued growth. Sequoia Capital and Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) led this round.   The funding will be used to enhance Capillary’s cloud-based integrated marketing platform and grow its partnership ecosystem, which already includes Blue Label Engage in South Africa and the American Express US Global Merchants Services group.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130228/599759)

“Continued funding by both Sequoia and NVP is a vote of confidence in our vision and continued traction in the marketplace. By harnessing the power of Capillary’s Intelligent Customer Engagement™ Suite, retailer marketers are forming successful and personalized relationships with their customers based on insights from our customer analytics platform across multiple channels,” said Aneesh Reddy, co-founder and CEO of Capillary Technologies. “Retailers realize a 15% increase in Average Basket Value and 30% increase in their customer retention rate by implementing our solutions, which is the reason we continue to grow so rapidly around the world.”

Capillary’s insights-driven, integrated marketing platform helps retailers to quickly and easily manage their customer data, gain insights and personalize engagement across multiple channels, driving a significant increase in sales and loyalty.  Capillary’s Intelligent Customer Engagement™ (ICE) suite of software solutions incorporates everything that retail marketers require to engage with their customers, weaving social and mobile experiences into any e-commerce platform or point-of-sale device from legacy terminals to the latest POS devices, mobile tablets, and online shopping platforms.

With the announcement of funding also comes the announcement of a new partner, Agilysys. Agilysys is a leading developer and marketer of proprietary enterprise software, services and solutions to the hospitality industry and operates extensively throughout North America, Europe and Asia.  “We are excited to have them on board and our partnership will allow us to bring innovative solutions to companies of all sizes in the hospitality industry,” said Anant Choubey, Vice President of the APAC region at Capillary Technologies.

Notable new customers include Marks & Spencer, a leading apparel retailer with stores in Europe, Middle East and Asia, KFC, the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain, Lacoste, a leading French bridge-to-luxury brand, Keedo, a leading children’s clothing manufacturers in South Africa, and Courts, one of the top electrical, IT and furniture retailers in Southeast Asia.”

“We want to continue to provide innovative shopping experiences for our customers.  Capillary’s insights-driven approach has allowed us to more precisely target prospects in six European countries who will be most receptive to our expanded product line,” said Zdenek Hasek, Head of Marketing at Marks & Spencer for Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Baltics.    

As evidence of its continued success, Capillary and its Customer Engagement Management platform has been honored with awards such as one of the 20 Most Promising Digital Marketing Solutions by CIO Review Magazine, Always On Global 250 Top Private Companies, Winner of Top 50 Startups by TiE Silicon Valley, Innovative 100 by Inc. Magazine’s India, and CIO Asia‘s 20 Most Promising Product Companies.

Contact Capillary Technologies:  
Vaibhav Khamesra
Director of Marketing, AP and MEA
+65-9005-7483
press@capillarytech.com