Articles by Tim Burroughs
PSERS re-ups as Orchid Asia seeks $750m for sixth China fund
Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) has committed up to $75 million to Orchid Asia’s sixth China fund, which has a target of $750 million.
VIDEO: Marcus Simpson of QIC
The relationship PE firms and large institutional investors has yet to settle down following the disturbance created by the global financial crisis, but fee discounts, co-investment and direct investment are here to stay, says Marcus Simpson, head of...
China vacation rental site raises $100m from VC investors
Venture capital investors have committed $100 million in Series C funding to Tujia.com, a Chinese vacation-rental website. The company has now raised $164 million since inception.
China’s CIC to focus on food
China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country’s $650 billion sovereign wealth fund, wants to partner with governments, multilateral organizations and like-minded institutions to invest in agriculture assets.
TA-owned SpeedCast buys PNG communications specialist
SpeedCast, a satellite telecom provider owned by TA Associates, has acquired of wireless and broadband specialist Oceanic Broadband in order to boost its coverage of the natural resources sector.
MSPEA in $293m Korea construction materials carve-out
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA) has acquired a construction materials business from a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group in a deal worth KRW300 billion ($293.4 million), including debt.
SoftBank's VC arm to help Kony expand in Asia
The VC arm of Japan’s SoftBank Corp. has led a $50 million round of funding for US-based Kony with a view to helping the enterprise mobility company expand in Asia.
Japan economics: The third arrow
The timing of the AVCJ Japan forum in recent years has seemed somewhat fortuitous.
Q&A: Capital Dynamics' Kazushige Kobayashi & Tokio Marine's Soichi Sam Takata
Kazushige Kobayashi (pictured), managing director at Capital Dynamics, and Soichi Sam Takata, head of private equity at Tokio Marine Asset Management, discuss the implications of improving investor sentiment in Japan
VC-backed Xunlei sets terms for $92.5m US IPO
Xunlei, a Chinese file-sharing and download management platform backed by a string of VC firms, is seeking to raise up to $92.5 million through its US IPO.
Quadrant sells Australia pet care business for $192m
Quadrant Private Equity will exit Australian pet supplies business City Farmers after veterinary services provider Greencross agreed to buy the company for A$205 million ($192 million).
China job site Zhaopin trading strongly after $75.7m US IPO
Chinese recruitment website Zhaopin is trading at around a 17% premium to its IPO price after raising $75.7 million through a US offering and receiving a parallel investment from Apax Partners.
Carlyle-backed China Forestry set for restructuring
China Forestry Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed timber company whose investors include The Carlyle Group, plans to negotiate a debt restructuring with creditors after defaulting on $180 million in senior notes.
TPG, PAG lead $1.2b acquisition of property manager DTZ
TPG Capital and PAG Asia Capital, together with co-investor Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) have agreed to buy DTZ, the property services arm of Australia-listed UGL, for an enterprise valuation of A$1.215 billion ($1.2 billion).
OPIC backs Quadria healthcare fund, CX India mezzanine vehicle
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has made commitments to Quadria Capital South and Southeast Asia-focused healthcare fund and CX Partners’ India mezzanine fund.
Bain sues Big Four auditor over India kidswear deal
Bain Capital is taking legal action against EY – formerly Ernst & Young – in a US court, alleging that its now worthless investment in India’s Lilliput Kidswear was made on the basis of false financial statements that the accounting firm had audited.
Bain makes partial exit from India’s Hero MotoCorp
Bain Capital has made a partial exit of roughly one third of its holding in MotoCorp, India’s largest motorcycle and scooter manufacturer, selling the stake for approximately INR14.8 billion ($248 million).
Ex-Auda Asia head Pak-Seng Lai joins Vision Knight
Vision Knight Capital (VKC) has appointed Pak-Seng Lai, formerly head of Asia at Auda, as managing partner. He will join the China-focused private equity firm in July.
GrabTaxi's scale proposition
Two tears ago, Anthony tan was pitching taxi fleets in Kuala Lumpur. His idea for a mobile phone app that could be used to make taxi bookings came runner-up in Harvard Business School's (HBS) 2011 business plan contest. Turning it into a reality was proving...
Portfolio: CHAMP Ventures and H-E Parts
CHAMP Ventures invested in H-E Parts to support expansion in Australia. As the only independent after-market parts provider of scale, the company is targeting miners that want to reduce their maintenance costs
The food thesis
Food has and continues to be one of the more compelling investment theses for private equity in China. The first phase of the consumer story was leveraging the emergence of discretionary consumption - households with sufficient income to choose one brand...
Communication key to a China fundraise - AVCJ Forum
Clear and consistent communication is the key to a successful China fundraise as LPs grapple with the various macro and micro concerns of investing in the country, industry participants told the AVCJ China Forum.
MSPEA wins approval for Yongye take-private
A take-private bid for Chinese nutrients company Yongye International, supported by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA), has won shareholder approval. The NASDAQ-listed firm is now set to de-list.
PE must prove value credentials to China targets - AVCJ Forum
Private equity investors in China must be more careful picking sectors and prepared to work harder to secure deals and deliver acceptable returns, industry participants told the AVCJ China Forum.