Asia Private Equity Weekly News, February 13, 2012

HONG KONG, February 13 (Reuters) - News and developments in Asia private equity from Reuters News for the Lunar New Year and the week ending Feb. 10.

FEBRUARY 10

EXCLUSIVE-UPDATE 4-Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba plans to take its Hong Kong-listed unit Alibaba.com Ltd private, two sources familiar with the matter said, as part of a complex deal that would strengthen founder Jack Ma's control and give key stakeholder Yahoo Inc cash and a direct stake in one of Alibaba's operating businesses.

JAPANESE PRIVATE equity firm Unison Capital is among companies in the final round of bidding for Japan drugmaker Showa Yakuhin Kako Co, a deal that could be worth about 50 billion yen ($650 million), four people familiar with the transaction said.

BARING PRIVATE Equity Asia is selling 50 million secondary shares in Yinge Gases Group Co Ltd via sole bookrunner Morgan Stanley for HK$8.29 to HK$8.5 per share, or up to HK$428 million ($55 million), Thomson Reuters publication IFR Asia reported.

KKR & Co LP reported a sharp decline in fourth-quarter earnings as a drop in carried interest, driven by mark-to-market valuations of its assets, offset revenue from higher fees.

A SECOND round of bids for the highly sought after Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team is due around Feb. 23, according to several people familiar with the process.

LENDERS TO BC Partners-owned Fitness First are selling out at a loss as the health club operator prepares for a 600 million pound ($950 million) debt restructuring after it was unable to refinance last year, Thomson Reuters LPC reported.

FEBRUARY 9

PRIVATE EQUITY firm Longreach Group is exploring the sale of its $440 million majority stake in Taiwanese lender En Tie Commercial Bank Ltd as it seeks to cash out of the 2007 investment, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

XSTRATA PLC Chief Executive Mick Davis is facing growing pressure from shareholders to secure a better deal in the miner's $41 billion takeover by Glencore , as he begins a transatlantic trip that could secure or sink the tie-up.

FEBRUARY 8

GLOBAL RENEWABLE energy investors are increasingly looking to Southeast and South Asia, lured by investment incentives rolled out by governments in the region amid a bleak outlook for clean energy investment in Europe and the United States.

NEWLY ESTABLISHED loan fund manager Metrics Credit Partners plans to raise A$3 billion ($3.24 billion) to invest in the $100 billion Australian loan market, as international lenders are retreating from the market and remaining lenders are more restrained, Thomson Reuters LPC reported.

FEBRUARY 7

THE CALIFORNIA State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), the second-largest U.S. public pension fund, has made what it called one of the largest single U.S. fund management commitments to infrastructure, investing up to $500 million.

EXCLUSIVE-FACEBOOK'S corporate governance rules, which give shareholders little say in how the social networking website would be run as a public company, are raising CalSTRS hackles, two of the fund's executives told Reuters in an interview.

FEBRUARY 6

TPG CAPITAL LP said it has raised about 4 billion yuan ($635 million) in two local-currency funds in China from mainly private investors, placing the U.S. firm ahead of some of its global rivals in China's nascent private equity industry.

AUSTRALIAN CLEANING services company Spotless Group Ltd bowed to shareholder pressure and agreed on Monday to open its books to suitor Pacific Equity Partners, but maintained it would not back a takeover offer below A$743 million ($800.43 million).

A PRIVATE equity fund launched by a former Bank of America Corp executive has expressed interest in buying Indonesia's state-owned PT Bank Mutiara Tbk PT for about $750 million.

UNITAS CAPITAL said it has appointed Sir Kevin Smith, former chief executive of GKN Plc, as partner to the firm, to be based in Hong Kong. ($1 = 7.755 Hong Kong Dollars)