3
▪ Asian outbound still led by Japan, as the SoftBank effect
amplifies
– 28 fundraises closed in Q1 2019 with a Japanese investor, compared to 19
for Chinese investors
– The five largest fundraises from Asia all had SoftBank as an investor, with
three transactions above the USD1bn mark
– SoftBank investments driving an increase in both outbound fundraising
value and volume in Q1 2019, with participating USD5.4bn fundraising over
the period vs USD2.6bn in Q4 2018
▪ European targets continue to enjoy popularity
– Value of deals with European targets increased by 57% from USD1.9bn to
USD 3.0bn on QoQ basis, while the deal with targets in North America
decreased by 47% from USD4.6bn to USD2.5bn on QoQ basis*
– CFIUS seen as a major hurdle: the Chinese owner of Grindr, Kunlun, were
required by CFIUS to sell the popular dating app as the Chinese ownership
“posed a national security risk”
– Ant Financial turned to World First, the UK-based payment platform, after
CFIUS blocked the MoneyGram deal, even though World First had to shut
down the US operations to ward off a potential regulatory hurdle
The view from GP Bullhound
Key themes in Q1 2019
Notes: *Excluding SoftBank transactions.
Australian & New Zealand deals are excluded in Q1 2019. Only includes deals with disclosed transaction values. Sectors include
internet software, electronic services, entertainment, media & publishing and healthcare.
Elsa Hu, Executive Director
Paul Gaillard, Associate
▪ Active outbound investors concentrate on deep pocket names
– For strategic investments, Tencent and Alibaba are the most active
Chinese investors with three investments in Q1 2019 respectively. Samsung
& its venture capital in South Korea closed four deals in Q1. And NTT and
Itochu are most active ones from Japan. with three investments
respectively in Q1 2019
– For financial investments, apart from SoftBank, GIC from Singapore and
Horizons Ventures from HK are the most active investors. Both made three
investments in Q1 2019
▪ Chinese economic developments in Q1 2019 driving positive
investment outlook for the year ahead
– China manufacturing activity saw its biggest increase in Q1 since 2012,
beating economists estimates and easing a big fear about global outlook
– Both domestic and external demand rebounded to their highest levels in
six months, signaling a positive outlook for the year ahead
– Sino-U.S. trade talks saw positive progress, but uncertainty is still weighting
on near-term outlook
– Beijing promised wider financial access for foreign investors as trade talks
enter crucial stage
Vincent Wei, Analyst
