PrivateEquityChina

H & Q Asia Pacific Raises US$500M for North Asia

H&Q Asia Pacific ("H&QAP") has raised $500 million for the north Asian region through its latest funds, Asia Pacific Growth Fund V, L.P. ("APGF V"), and H&Q-NPS Fund I. APGF V will generally invest in the North Asian markets of Japan, South Korea, and Greater China in later stage and larger-sized deals where it has either control or significant influence, while H&Q-NPS Fund I will adopt the same strategy focused solely on Korea.

Since its inception, H&QAP has managed 19 funds with an aggregate of $2.1 billion in committed capital. With the firm's recent successful exits in China (Amperex Technology Ltd.) and in Japan (GDH, formerly Gonzo Digimation Holding), APGF V builds on the success and experienced gained from prior H&QAP regional funds and leverages the firm's platform and seven-office network in the Asia Pacific region.

"With the proliferation of Asian funds in the market, we are appreciative of the support and confidence that our limited partners have vested in H&Q Asia Pacific, and we will work hard to deliver returns," said Dr. Ta-lin Hsu, founder and Chairman of H&Q Asia Pacific. "We are very excited about the investment opportunities across the Asian landscape and believe that we are well-positioned to take advantage of these opportunities," Dr. Hsu added.

Sierra Invests in Gobi

U.S. fund Sierra Ventures has partnered with Shanghai-based Gobi Ventures to do early-stage deals in the Middle Kingdom.

Sierra Ventures

• a Silicon Valley venture firm with $1.1 billion in committed capital
• invested in Gobi Ventures - the first time its invested as a limited partner in another fund
• was seeking a partner in China to enable it to invest in early stage investments

Gobi Partners

• a Shanghai-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology companies
• fund expanded to $50 million following the Sierra investment
• Co-investors were International Business Machines, NTT DoCoMo, and The McGraw-Hill Companies
• fund's focus is information technology, internet, wireless, and digital media companies
• founded in 2002 by Wai Kit Lau, Thomas G. Tsao, and Lawrence Tse
• portfolio companies include Digital Media Group, which operates digital media networks in China’s subway systems, and Lingtu, a digital-mapping and location-based services provider.

IDG New China Fund

International Data Group and Accel Partners have launched a new venture capital fund for China. The IDG-Accel China Growth Fund will focus on IT, healthcare, consumer technologies, and other emerging technologies. Its anchor investors are IDG and Accel but the fund will also gather capital from institutional investors.

IDG Technology Venture Investment (IDGVC), the general partnership which has been managing IDG's venture capital funds in China since 1992, will manage the new fund.

IDG founder and chairman Patrick McGovern said, 'It's a perfect time for IDG to scale up its investment activities in China as we have been seeing an increasing number of larger investment opportunities.'

Jim Breyer, managing partner of Accel Partners, added, 'We are very excited about this new partnership as IDGVC is considered one of the best venture capital investment teams in China and has delivered superior returns to its investors.'

IDGVC was founded by IDG, a provider of information technology services, and originally named Pacific Technology Venture Fund-China. IDGVC's venture capital operation is headquartered in Beijing, with branch offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in China, and in Boston and San Jose in the United States. Accel Partners has offices in Palo Alto, California and London

July 2005