Articles by Tim Burroughs
Australia's Employment Hero gets $35m Series D
Australian online human resources services start-up Employment Hero has raised A$45 million ($35 million) in Series D funding led by domestic recruitment business Seek.
ESG & operations: Compliance corner
Few mid-market private equity firms in Asia have dedicated ESG personnel and this is not necessarily an obstacle to progress. As compliance and reporting burdens increase, the status quo may change
Lunar buys majority stake in Hong Kong IVF business
Chinese middle-market buyout firm Lunar has agreed to acquire a women’s health and IVF business from Mason Group, a Hong Kong conglomerate with interests in financial services and healthcare, for HK$268 million ($34.5 million).
Malaysia's EPF awards co-investment SMAs to global firms
BlackRock, HarbourVest Partners, and Partners Group have been awarded co-investment mandates by Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) totaling $600 million.
FountainVest buys China logistics business
FountainVest Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in China-based CJ Rokin Logistics from Korea’s CJ Logistics for KRW733.8 billion ($661.3 million).
New Frontier Japan targets $94m for second fund
New Frontier Japan Investment (NFJI), a lower middle-market Japanese private equity firm, is looking to raise JPY10 billion ($94.4 million) for its second fund.
Q&A: Affirma Capital's Ivo Philipps
Affirma Capital came into being 18 months ago as Standard Chartered’s private equity team spun out with most of the remaining balance sheet assets. COO Ivo Philipps explains the middle and back office transition
TPG takes majority stake in NewQuest
TPG has agreed to take a majority interest in Asia secondaries specialist NewQuest Capital Partners, nearly three years after acquiring a minority stake in the manager.
Fund focus: LPs endorse Ocean Link's China tourism, tech thesis
Ocean Link has raised $580 million for a second fund targeting China travel, tourism and consumer technology assets, but the firm believes co-investment could take aggregate deployment to $1.4 billion
COOs in Asia private equity: Horses for courses
The COO role is gradually becoming more prevalent in Asian private equity, but GPs struggle to find the right combination of financial skills and business acumen. The optimal candidate is often internal
KKR commits $723m to Korean shipping services business
KKR has made a pre-IPO investment of KRW800 billion ($723 million) in Hyundai Global Service (HGS), the aftersales marine services arm of Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings (HHIH).
B Capital launches SPAC
B Capital Group, a US-based venture capital firm with a presence in Singapore and a significant Asia portfolio, is looking to raise $300 million for a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Korea's Tmon closes $276m pre-IPO round
PS Alliance, an investment unit of South Korean automotive and electronic components manufacturer Poongsung Group, has led a KRW305 billion ($276 million) commitment to local e-commerce platform Tmon.
KKR loses managing director in Singapore
Terence Lee, a managing director at KKR who leads technology, media and telecom (TMT) and growth equity investments in Southeast Asia, has left the firm.
China's CITIC sells US dental business
CITIC Capital Partners has exited US-based dental business DDS Lab – the private equity firm’s first acquisition in the US as a lead investor – to RoundTable Healthcare Partners for an undisclosed sum.
PE-backed JD Logistics set for Hong Kong listing
JD Logistics, a supply chain solutions and logistics provider that spun-out from Chinese online retailer JD.com, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO. The company has received $2.57 billion in private funding.
India's Avataar raises $100m top-up fund
Avataar Ventures, an India-based enterprise software investor that spun out from Norwest Venture Partners in 2019, has raised a $100 million opportunities fund that will do follow-on rounds for existing portfolio companies and make some new investments....
Carlyle to invest $200m in Korea's Kakao Mobility
The Carlyle Group has invested $200 million in Kakao Mobility, a transportation-focused spinout from Korea’s Kakao Corporation that offers taxi-hailing, designated driver, and other services.
Bharti Airtel to buy back stake in DTH business from Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus has agreed to exit its stake in Bharti Telemedia, the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television services arm of Indian telecom services provider Bharti Airtel, through a share buyback worth INR31.3 billion ($429.5 million) in cash and shares....
Korean retailer Shinsegae invests in Southeast Asia's Grab
Korean retailer Shinsegae has invested in ride-hailing and online-to-offline services (O2O) platform Grab, as financial and strategic players from Korea and Japan continue their push into Southeast Asian technology unicorns.
Hamilton Lane secures Asian support for global secondaries fund
Hamilton Lane has closed its fifth global secondaries fund on $3.9 billion, with Asian LPs accounting for 17% of the corpus.
PE-backed Arohan Financial Services files for India IPO
Arohan Financial Services, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI) that was acquired by Aavishkaar Group in 2012 and went on to receive funding from several other PE investors, has filed for a domestic IPO.
Ex-KKR executive to lead Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund
Ridha Wirakusumah, whose previous roles include serving as a director for Southeast Asia at KKR, has been chosen to lead Indonesia's new sovereign wealth fund.
Waterman set for $140m windfall from My Food Bag IPO
New Zealand’s Waterman Capital will realize up to NZ$193.9 million ($140 million) through the IPO of My Food Bag, a home delivery service that provides customers with ingredients and recipes to cook their own meals.