Deals in brief: BII and Idemitsu invest in Skye Renewables, GMO Financial Gate forms capital alliance with Soft Space, MBK Partners refinances Homeplus loans, and more
Summary
Skyes projects are estimated to reduce 270,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.GMO Financial Gate and Soft Space forge capital alliance to transform Japans payment sectorGMO Financial Gate, a Japan-based payment processing company, has formed a capital alliance with Soft Space, a Malaysia-based fintech player, receiving an undisclosed amount of funding. This investment reportedly precedes Soft Spaces planned Series C funding round, and is aimed at promoting a cashless society in Japan through fintech.Through this collaboration, GMO plans to introduce Soft Spaces payment solutions to its existing markets and partners while allowing Soft Space to tap on its clientele and explore opportunities in other sectors that predominantly use cash payments.MBK Partners secures refinancing for Homeplus loans from Meritz Financial GroupMBK Partners, a North Asia-focused private equity firm, has refinanced its KRW 1.3 million (USD 969 million) loans on Homeplus with support from Meritz Financial Group.Headquartered in Seoul, Meritz is a financial holding company with subsidiaries in the insurance and finance field.According to The Korea Economic Daily, Meritz is issuing the loans to MBK at an interest rate of 10% per annum, which will be backed by Homeplus store buildings and other properties.MBK acquired 100% of Homeplus from Tesco in 2015, in what was the largest buyout deal in Asia at that time.Dali Discount, one of the leading discount grocery chains in the Philippines, has secured USD 25 million in funding from Venturi Partners to accelerate its expansion across the country.Dalis commitment to maximizing value for its customers aligns seamlessly with our consumer-first investment philosophy, and we see tremendous potential for the company to expand its reach and improve the lives of even more households across the Philippines, said Nicholas Cator, founding partner at Venturi.This is Venturis second investment in the Philippines, following investment in Pickup Coffee in 2023.Techcoop, a Vietnamese agritech startup, has secured USD 5 million in debt and equity financing. This allows their investments to continue growing for the long term while fulfilling immediate financial needs.According to Business Standard, the capital will be used to support Yenmos aim of promoting financial inclusion in India.Subko Coffee, a specialty coffee roastery and bakehouse, has secured INR 851 million (USD 10.2 million) in a Series B funding round led by NKSquared. TCab Tech, an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer, has raised an additional USD 20 million in its Series A funding round. TCab is also targeting the air mobility markets in China and Southeast Asia, and will use the funds to expedite the development and commercialization of its E20 aircraft model by securing airworthiness certifications.