<article>We were very excited this week to bring you <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/revolution-precrafted-unicorn-halo-175880/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the first part of our story</a> on just what is happening with Revolution Precrafted &#8212; the Philippines’ first and much-lauded unicorn helmed by man-about-town Robbie Antonio, scion of the Century Properties group.</article>

We were very excited this week to bring you <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/revolution-precrafted-unicorn-halo-175880/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the first part of our story</a> on just what is happening with Revolution Precrafted &#8212; the Philippines’ first and much-lauded unicorn helmed by man-about-town Robbie Antonio, scion of the Century Properties group.
Antonio promised to revolutionise property development and construction by selling prefabricated, designer homes that could be built in a few months, instead of the years that it typically took. But when our reporter Kristie Neo visited some of the upcoming estates, she found what was essentially abandoned construction sites with barebone structures left baking in the sun.
We have made the Revolution Precrafted story a free read for a limited time, so if you are not a subscriber yet, you can now read it. We are going to dig deeper in the coming weeks and bring you more analytical coverage, so I recommend you <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/subs/signup/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pick up that subscription now</a>.
We are also looking into what seems to be billions of dollars worth of initial public offerings that have stalled in Indonesia.
The delays have been attributed to poor market conditions, particularly since the COVID-19 outbreak. But as DealStreetAsia finds out, weak investor sentiment is likely <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indonesias-ipo-pipeline-175719/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a fallout from a penny stock scandal involving state-owned entities</a>. As authorities investigate and clamp down on the securities industry, what’s also at stake are exits for private investors.
<h3>Flurry of deals in the education sector</h3>
We also carried stories on the growing interest in education-related investments, particularly English-language training centres in Vietnam.
Apax English, owned by Ho Chi Minh-listed Apax Holdings Investment, is said to be <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/apax-english-funding-175188/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in talks to raise about $40 million</a> for expansion.
Separately, another English-language training school, Apollo English, is said to have <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/apollo-english-cvc-ta-associates-175395/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">attracted a host of private equity firms</a> keen to pick up a stake in the company. Apollo is part of Singapore-based Dragonfly Education Group, owned by Khalid Muhmood and his wife Arabella Peters, who, as we reported earlier, could be keen to sell the entire Vietnamese operation to the right buyer, at the right price.
In Indonesia, there is <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indonesias-education-push-174515/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">keen interest in edtech plays</a> as the government focuses on developing the country’s human capital. Since November 2019, at least six edtech startups have announced successful fundraising.
<h3>Deals uninterrupted</h3>
There were a few notable deals completed this week.
Indonesian peer-to-peer lender UangTeman <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indonesias-uangteman-series-b-175979/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hit the final close</a> of its $10 million Series B funding round. The new investors include Silicon Valley’s Pegasus Tech Ventures and Japan’s Spiral Ventures.
In the Philippines, KKR-backed Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings signed an agreement <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/metro-pacific-hospital-acquisition-175870/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to acquire</a> 51 per cent of Los Banos Doctors Hospital and Medical Center for $5 million. The purchase follows a $685 million investment in Metro Pacific by a KKR-led consortium in October.
Singapore-listed food court operator Kimly is <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/kimly-acquisition-176118/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">acquiring a portfolio of food outlets</a> worth nearly $40 billion. The bulk of the acquisition will be paid for with internal cash, with the rest funded by proceeds from the issuance of S$10 million worth of new shares. Kimly operates more than 70 food outlets and 135 food stalls across Singapore.
In Vietnam, online recruitment firm Sieu Viet <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/affirma-capital-sieu-viet-175703/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">secured $34 million in investment</a> from Affirma Capital, the private equity firm formerly known as Standard Chartered Private Equity. The company has four job portals catering to businesses in the country.
Also in Vietnam, the two founders of digital media firm Yeah1 have <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/vietnam-yeah1-share-sale-176108/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pared their interest</a> in the company by selling a combined 19.3 per cent stake to a strategic investor. The new investor, who was not named in the regulatory filings, paid nearly $13 million for the shares. The funds are expected to go towards the setting up of a celebrity platform.
Meanwhile, Danish facilities management firm ISS Group is said to be just a few months away from <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/iss-group-rippledot-capital-175913/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">finalising the sale of its operations in Thailand</a> for as much as $150 million. ISS had announced in December 2018 that it was divesting the bulk of its operations in Southeast Asia.
<h3>Finally</h3>
Japan&#8217;s largest lender, MUFG Bank, is all set to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/mufg-bank-grab-175670/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">invest over $700 million</a> in Singapore’s ride-hailing leader Grab, Nikkei Asian Review reported this week. Mitsubishi UFJ Lease and Finance, a subsidiary of the Japanese group, had last year invested in rival Gojek. Payments major Visa is another common shareholder of the ride-hailing companies.

This week, we brought you the first part of our investigation on just what's happening with Revolution Precrafted, the Philippines’ first unicorn.

Editor's take: The week that was -- Feb 17-21

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Editor's take: The week that was -- Feb 17-21

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