Clare Burrows

Lion Capital portfolio company, La Senza, is poised to undergo a KPMG-led financial restructuring as the UK retail sector faces disappointing winter sales.

Arle Capital Partners - formerly Candover Partners - has hired two investment team members including Sara Sulaiman (pictured) as part of a drive to re-shape its strategic focus.

Financial advisory firm DC Advisory Partners has hired BofA managing director Joel Hope-Bell for its business services team only a year after he began at the bank, according to a source close to the firm. Hope-Bell will be the firm’s sixth hire this year as it predicts a busy 2012.

Bridgepoint has added a China-focused advisor, Henry Chow, to its board to provide advice on how to build links between portfolio companies and the increasingly influential Asian country.

Private equity firm the China-ASEAN Investment Fund will next year raise a fund up to three times the size of its current $1bn fund dedicated to Southeast Asia, as LPs look to increase their exposure to the region.

While China’s growth story remains at the top of the list for LPs in Asia, some may be forgetting the opportunities offered by the most established private equity market in Asia Pacific. PE Asia asked some placement agents what they thought about where to invest on the continent.

Italian media giant Mediaset has joined Clessidra to bid for TV producer Endemol. Mediaset is owned by Fininvest, a Berlusconi vehicle whose former head left in 2003 to form Clessidra.

Private equity figures in Australia are hitting new heights as more investors look to Asia Pacific for opportunities. With buyouts 542 percent up since crisis times, exit figures are higher than ever, according to figures from Dealogic.

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners is to sell supermarket chain C1000 to Dutch rival grocer Jumbo. Combining the two supermarkets will leave the businesses with 23 percent market share.

Bain Capital is nearing a first close for its second Asia fund, the first for which Bain has offered two fee options to LPs in order to attract capital in a tough fundraising market.