Articles by Tim Burroughs
Sequoia, TR lead $50m Series C for India’s Urban Ladder
Urban Ladder, which claims to be India’s leading furniture-focused online retailer, has received $50 million in a Series C round of funding led by Sequoia Capital and TR Capital.
Texas County & District re-ups for RRJ Capital’s third fund
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) will invest $50 million in RRJ Capital’s third fund, which launched earlier this year and is understood to be targeting at least $4 billion.
Sebastiaan van den Berg leaves HarbourVest
Sebastiaan van den Berg, Asia-based managing director with HarbourVest Partners, has left the firm after 10 years.
Macquarie, Brookfield to buy Apache’s Australia energy unit
US-based oil and gas exploration and production company Apache has agreed to sell its Australia business to Macquarie Capital and Brookfield Asset Management for $2.1 billion in cash.
Intel launches accelerator to support Chinese entrepreneurs
Intel Corporation has committed RMB120 million ($19.3 million) to a China accelerator program that will help local entrepreneurs develop their business ideas.
VC-backed WoWo jumps 2.85% on debut after $40m US IPO
WoWo, the Chinese entertainment-focused e-commerce platform that started out as operator of group-buying site 55tuan, jumped 2.95% on its NASDAQ debut after raising $40 million through its IPO.
Ascendent seeks $500m for second China fund
China-focused GP Ascendent Capital Partners has set a target of $500 million for its second fund.
PE-backed Red Star Macalline files for HK IPO
Red Star Macalline Group, a private equity-backed shopping mall operator in China, has filed to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
CapAsia exits Malaysia toll road
Southeast Asia infrastructure investor CapAsia has sold its stake in Malaysia’s Cheras-Kajang Highway to a joint venture between Taliworks Corp. and Employees Provident Fund for MYR80 million ($21.9 million).
Australia's Bradken rejects new buyout offer from PEP, Koch
Australian mining industry supplier Bradken has rebuffed another takeover bid by Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), this time acting in tandem with Koch Industries.
AVCJ daily bulletin returns April 8
AVCJ's daily bulletin will take a short break for the Easter holiday and the Ching Ming Festival. Publication will resume on April 8.
VIDEO: Navis Capital Partners' Rodney Muse
Nothing is off limits now when LPs are conducting due diligence on private equity firms as investors respond to issues such as regulatory change, according to Rodney Muse, co-founder and managing partner of Navis Capital Partners
Everstone buys Aon Hewitt’s Asia payroll business
India and Southeast Asia-focused GP Everstone Capital has acquired Aon Hewitt’s Asia Pacific payroll business for an undisclosed sum.
PE-backed film studio gets funding from China’s Huayi
STX Entertainment, a Hollywood studio set up with support from Hony Capital and TPG Capital, has secured a three-year financing deal with China’s Huayi Brothers Media Corp. to release 12-15 movies a year by 2016.
Creador to seek $450m for Fund III
Creador is preparing to launch its third Southeast Asia- and India-focused fund with a target corpus of $450 million. This comes barely eight months after the GP closed its second fund at $330 million.
Bain-owned MYOB targets $638m in Australia IPO
MYOB, an Australian accounting software developer owned by Bain Capital, is seeking to raise up to A$833.8 million ($635.5 million) through an IPO on the Sydney bourse. The PE firm will not sell any shares in the offering.
China exits: Liquidity lags
Despite the return of domestic listings, many China PE investors are struggling on distributions. Much rests on the success of IPO reforms, the ability to execute trade sales, and an unblocking of the secondary market
China's middle market: Small is beautiful
What has become of China's middle-market GPs? Twelve managers reached final closes in 2014 of $301-750 million. All bar two of them were raising venture capital funds.
Baring branches into real estate
BPE Asia Real Estate, the property-focused affiliate of Baring Private Equity Asia, picks its markets based on entry price per square foot. When investing in property developments, this is inextricably tied to land costs.
Baring Asia closes debut real estate fund
Baring Private Equity Asia’s real estate affiliate has closed its debut fund with $365 million in commitments. The first two investments have also been completed in South Korea and the Philippines, respectively.
IDG commits $24m to Kingsoft’s cloud computing unit
IDG Capital Partners has agreed to invest $24.06 million in Kingsoft Cloud Group as part of a funding round led by the cloud computing venture’s parent company, Kingsoft.
China fund to lead $5b investment in Indonesia industrial park
China Minsheng Investment, a private equity firm set up last year by the former head of China Minsheng Banking Corporation, will lead a $5 billion investment in an Indonesian industrial park.
CDH participates in $483m round for Chinese P2P lending platform
CDH Investments has participated in a RMB3 billion round ($483 million) round of funding for Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange (Lufax), a Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform controlled by Ping An Insurance Group.
PE investors to make partial exits from India's AGS, S.H. Kelkar
Three private equity firms – TPG Capital, Actis and The Blackstone Group – are set for partial exits from their Indian investments as payment solutions provider AGS Transact Technologies and fragrances manufacturer S.H. Kelkar both filed for IPOs.