Articles by Tim Burroughs
KKR’s Kravis highlights India distress openings
KKR plans to capitalize on corporate indebtedness in India by investing in companies with distressed balance sheets that have difficulty raising capital through conventional channels, according to Henry Kravis, the private equity firm’s co-founder and...
CDC adds to ESG team
CDC Group, a UK development finance institution that focuses on investments in South Asia and Africa, has appointed Ritu Kumar as director for environmental and social responsibility.
Tencent buys 20% stake in VC-backed Dianping
Tencent Holdings has paid an undisclosed sum for a 20% stake in Dianping, a VC-backed online listings provider best known as one of China’s most popular sites for restaurant reviews. The deal comes as China’s internet giants continue to broaden their...
Baring Asia-owned Nord Anglia files for $300m IPO
Nord Anglia Education, a Hong Kong-based school operator with a presence in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America, has filed to raise up to $300 million through a US IPO. The company has been majority-owned by Baring Private Equity Asia since...
Hopu participates in $2.5b China warehouse investment
Hopu Investment Management is part of a consortium that has agreed to invest $2.5 billion in Global Logistic Properties (GLP), a Singapore-listed warehouse operator with interests in China, Japan and Brazil.
Q&A: Partners Group's Andreas Baumann
Partners Group has raised $2 billion for its latest PE direct investment program, up to 40% of which can be deployed outside of the US and Europe. Andreas Baumann, head of the firm’s Singapore office, highlights the opportunities in Asia
Singapore vs. Hong Kong: Shifting sands
Fund administrators are seeing increased demand from GPs for back office services in Singapore. Hong Kong isn’t the definitive loser, but the territory’s lack of tax and regulatory certainty for PE is a factor
Of the same mind
So now we know, or at least we are in a position to make an informed guess: Alibaba Group is worth $127.6 billion. Others would puts its value at north of $150 billion, but that’s not the point. More interesting is the process that led to this estimate...
TPG, Fosun set for $369m China healthcare take-private
TPG Capital and Fosun Industrial have teamed up with the CEO of Chinese healthcare provider Chindex International have won board approval to privatize the NASDAQ-listed company. The deal values Chindex at approximately $369 million.
India's IFCI to set up $32m social venture fund
Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), the country’s oldest development finance institution, has received a government mandate to set up a venture capital fund that will support economically disadvantaged groups.
Quadrant exits Australia, New Zealand home equity release assets
Quadrant Private Equity has agreed to sell Seniors Money International’s (SMI) New Zealand and Australian home equity release mortgage businesses to New Zealand’s Heartland Bank for NZ$87 million ($72.8 million).
Vipshop buys majority stake in VC-backed China cosmetics site
Chinese online retailer Vipshop Holdings, a DCM and Sequoia Capital portfolio company that went public in the US in 2012, has agreed to buy a 75% stake in cosmetics and fashion products site Lefeng.com for approximately $132.5 million.
Xiaomi Ventures invests in Kingsoft gaming unit Westhouse
Xiaomi Ventures, a corporate VC unit of Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi, has invested $20 million in Westhouse Group, a game developer controlled by Kingsoft Corporation.
Ex-PEP executive to lead Social Ventures Australia
Rob Koczkar, formerly a managing director at Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), has been appointed CEO of Social Ventures Australia (SVA), a non-profit organization that makes strategic investments designed to generate education and employment opportunities...
IMM set to buy Hyundai Merchant Marine's LNG business
IMM Private Equity has been selected as the preferred bidder for Hyundai Merchant Marine’s (HMM) liquefied natural gas (LNG) business in a deal worth KRW1.1 trillion ($1 billion). The announcement comes a few weeks after fellow South Korean GP Hahn...
Partners Group raises $2b for PE direct investment program
Partners Group has raised EUR1.5 billion ($2 billion) for its largest-ever private equity direct investment program, adding impetus to a strategy that has so far seen two deals in Asia, both secondary acquisitions from other GPs.
Tiger Global picks up Alibaba stake for $199m
Tiger Global has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Alibaba Group from Chinese online game developer Giant Interactive Group for approximately $199.1 million. Giant originally invested $50 million in 2011 via limited partnerships managed by Yunfeng...
China’s Sungy Mobile buys VC-backed app store Getjar
Sungy Mobile, a VC-backed Chinese app developer that went public on NASDAQ last year, has acquired GetJar, a US-based mobile ad network. GetJar previously raised three rounds of VC funding, two led by Accel Partners and the third led by Tiger Global.
Hony in talks to join Giant Interactive take-private - report
Hony Capital is said to be in advanced talks to join a consortium led by Baring Private Equity Asia that is supporting the $2.8 billion take-private deal for Chinese online game developer Giant Interactive.
GE, SAC exit Taiwan’s Cosmos Bank
GE Capital and SAC Capital will exit Taiwan’s Cosmos Bank to domestic financial services conglomerate China Development Financial Holding Corp. The announcement of the NT$23.1 billion ($762.4 million) deal, which was priced below market value, saw Cosmos...
Adveq in $200m Australia almonds play
Adveq’s real assets division has completed the purchase of 18,000 hectares of almond orchards in Australia for A$211 million ($200 million) from commodities conglomerate Olam International. Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan and Danica...
Portfolio: STIC Investments and Access Bio
STIC Investments backed Access Bio when the Korean-led malaria testing technology player wanted to buy key components and expand output. Now KOSDAQ-listed, the company has its eye on specialty diagnostics
Catalyst completes cool exit
Throughout last year's election campaign, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged to repeal the country’s carbon tax on taking office. Five months on, he has yet to do it and the debate rumbles on as to whether the drop in emissions – 0.3% for...
Fund admin: In house or out?
Asian private equity is becoming institutionalized, with increasingly sophisticated and international LPs asking GPs to bulk up their back office capabilities. Third-party administrators sense an opportunity