Articles by Tim Burroughs
MBK considers IPO for Taiwan's CNS – report
MBK Partners is reportedly considering an IPO for China Network Systems (CNS), Taiwan’s largest cable TV and broadband provider, in place of a longstanding trade sale agreement that has yet to materialize amid regulatory concerns.
First Reserve-backed KrisEnergy jumps 5% on Singapore debut
KrisEnergy, the Southeast Asia-focused oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company which counts First Reserve among its investors, rose 5% on its trading debut in Singapore on Friday. The stock closed at S$1.155 after reaching an intra-day high...
KKR seals debut Indonesia deal
KKR will become the second-largest shareholder in Indonesia’s Tiga Pilar Sejahtera Food (TPSF) after agreeing to buy an approximately 9.5% stake for an undisclosed sum. The investment, which is being made through funds advised by KKR Asset Management,...
Asian GPs under pressure to return capital to investors – AVCJ Forum
Asian fund managers are under pressure to return capital to investors as patience wears thin with promises of returns to come, despite the regional growth story being far from over, industry participants told the AVCJ Singapore Forum. These sentiments...
Southeast Asia VC still overlooked by global investors - AVCJ Forum
Southeast Asia is the region’s forgotten venture capital market despite some compelling fundamentals. Last month ASEAN overtook the US by internet users and at some point this month it will surpass the US in terms of the total number of 3G connections,...
ASEAN integration brings opportunities, challenges - AVCJ Forum
ASEAN integration is a game changer for companies from China and India as well as for those in Southeast Asia, but a lack of familiarity with private equity in more peripheral markets remains an obstacle, fund managers told the AVCJ Singapore forum.
Q&A: KKR's Joe Bae
KKR last week announced a final close of $6 billion on its second pan-Asia fund, the largest vehicle of its kind ever raised in the region. Joseph Bae, KKR's head of Asia, tells AVCJ how it will be deployed
IMM taps Korea's coffee cravings
Statistics alone do not capture the role coffee has come to play in South Korean culture. Starbucks entered the country in 1999 and it is now the firm's sixth-largest market globally by store numbers, with 556 in operation as of March and plans to take...
2Q analysis: China in the spotlight
All is not well for China PE investment with one big deal disguising a period of relative inactivity; China exits, on the other hand, are prospering; and Asia PE fundraising is, of course, struggling
First Reserve-backed KrisEnergy to raise $213m in IPO
Southeast Asia oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company KrisEnergy, which counts First Reserve among its investors, is expected to raise S$270.8 million ($213 million) through its Singapore IPO.
Vietnam's Mekong Capital appoints new partner
Vietnam-focused GP Mekong Capital has named Chad Ovel as a partner. It is the first partner-level appointment since Chris Freund, Mekong’s founding partner, set up the firm in 2001.
SEC removes PE general solicitation ban
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has voted to remove the longstanding ban on general solicitation by private-issuers, opening a path for private equity firms to speak publicly about their fundraising efforts and engage more freely with...
CPPIB, Goodman inject another $500m into China logistics venture
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Australian property and logistics firm Goodman Group have increased the equity commitment to their China joint venture, putting in another $500 million. A contribution of the same size was made last August,...
HarbourVest raises $3.6b for global secondaries fund
HarbourVest Partners has reached a final close of $3.6 billion on its latest global secondaries fund, exceeding the $3 billion target, on the back of strong investor demand. The fund, Dover Street VIII, is also larger than its predecessor, which reached...
Southeast Asia oil and gas: Going solo
The relative scarcity of independent oil and gas exploration and production firms in Southeast Asia doesn’t reflect the region’s wealth of natural resources opportunities. Private equity firms are catching on
Southeast Asia's unloved
Southeast Asia is in vogue, seen by many as an increasingly credible alternative to China and India. Indonesia, as the region’s only market of scale, has naturally attracted the most interest. Virtually every regional and global private equity firm has...
KKR raises largest-ever pan-Asia private equity fund
KKR has announced a final close of $6 billion on its second pan-Asian fund. Coming in 50% larger than its 2007 vintage predecessor, the fund is the largest regional private equity pool ever accumulated.
Australia's Next Capital buys Scottish Pacific from Lazard
Next Capital completed the acquisition of Australian debt finance company Scottish Pacific from Lazard Australia Private Equity. The transaction value wasn’t disclosed but local media reports put it at around A$90 million ($82.6 million).
Baring PE Asia set for Korea logistics buyout
Baring Private Equity Asia has agreed to buy South Korean courier services provider Logen Logistics from Mirae Asset Private Equity. The deal is worth around KRW160 billion ($140 million).
Apollo reaches $6.8b first close on global fund – report
Apollo Global Management has reportedly reached a first close of about $6.8 billion on its latest global fund. Apollo Investment Fund VIII set out with a target of $12 billion and has since introduced a hard cap of $15 billion.
Korea's IMM Private Equity invests $87m in Hollys F&B
IMM Private Equity has agreed to pay KRW100 billion ($87 million) for a controlling position in Hollys F&B, the parent company of Hollys Coffee, one of South Korea’s largest coffee shop chains.
Baring-backed Nord Anglia returns to Asia high-yield market
Baring Private Equity Asia-owned Nord Anglia Education has once again tapped Asia’s high-yield market, raising $165 million through a bond issue. This is the third time Nord Anglia has raised debt financing in the last 18 months – and the first of these...
Temasek's portfolio expands to $169b with greater focus on energy
Temasek Holdings saw its portfolio grow to S$215 billion ($169 billion) for the year ended March 2013, up 8.6% from the preceding 12 months.
Asia PE fundraising slumps to $13b in first half of 2013
Asia private equity fundraising came to $13.8 billion in the first half of the year, down 40% on the second half of 2012, according to provisional data from AVCJ Research. This is the lowest six-monthly total since January-June 2009. PE investment reached...