Articles by Tim Burroughs
FLAG Squadron Asia sees exodus of senior professionals - Update
David Pierce, a partner at FLAG Squadron Asia and formerly head of the Squadron Capital team that merged with FLAG Capital last year, has resigned from the firm. Jacob Chiu, another partner, has also handed in his notice.
Australia’s QIC enters US retail property market
Australian institutional investment manager QIC has made its first direct investment into the US property market after taking a position in eight regional retail malls worth $2.05 billion. QIC’s global real estate division will put in $435.6 million...
Australia’s PEP eyes US debt financing market
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) is considering US refinancing options for several of its portfolio companies after a well received debt offering for movie theater chain Hoyts in May. The Australian GP is one of several to opt for US over domestic debt markets,...
Q&A: Pacific Equity Partners' Tony Duthie
As one of Asia’s more mature markets, Australia has a different offering to most in the regional basket. Tony Duthie, managing director at Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), discusses buyouts, leverage and co-investment
European infrastructure: Bubble at the core
Asian investors are drawn to the diversification and yields offered by European infrastructure, but certain segments of the market are overheating. Prices are getting bid up and returns are likely to be pushed down
FountainVest scoops top AVCJ China Awards
AVCJ China Awards: Morgan Stanley PE Asia’s Homer Sun named PE Professional of the Year; the consortium behind Alibaba Group’s buyback win top deal honor; Carlyle gets exit award for China Pacific Insurance
East meets West: China PE and European corporates
Asian companies have sunk nearly $9 billion into European assets so far this year. In 2012, the final total for Asia-to-Europe M&A was more than $54 billion across 200 or so deals, according to AVCJ Research. This is more than was deployed in the four...
DBS buys more time for Bank Danamon control deal
DBS Group has extended the deadline for it to secure majority control of Indonesia’s Bank Danamon by two months to August 1. The bank wants to acquire the 67.4% stake in Danamon owned by Temasek Holdings – also DBS’ controlling shareholder – with...
Billabong turns to refinancing options as buyout talks falter
Embattled Australian surfwear company Billabong has discarded the possibility of a takeover by two PE-backed suitors and is now looking at asset sales and alternative means of refinancing its debt. The private equity firms involved in the bids – Altamont...
CITIC PE completes $370m 3SBio take-private
Chinese biotechnology firm 3SBio will delist from NASDAQ after shareholders voted in favor of a privatization bid from a group led by the company’s CEO and CITIC Private Equity. The deal, which values 3SBio at $370 million, is the eighth successful...
PE firms struggle with rich valuations in Southeast Asia – survey
Increased competition for deals and buoyant equity markets have pushed up valuations in Southeast Asia, prompting private equity investors to hold back, according to a new survey. While the region is becoming more important in investment strategies, returns...
China’s Fosun supports Alibaba in logistics build-out
Chinese conglomerate Fosun International will contribute RMB500 million ($81.4 million) for a 10% interest in Alibaba Group’s nationwide logistics project. Known as the China Smart Logistics Network, the project is expected to receive up to RMB100 billion...
PE-backed Chinese horse breeder gets Series B round
China’s largest non-farming horse breeder and horse feedstock trader has received RMB45 million ($7.3 million) from CDF Capital as part of a Series B round of funding. This comes nine months after the company’s RMB120 million Series A round, half...
CITIC PE to launch offshore energy fund with Canadian asset manager
CITIC Private Equity has entered into a joint venture with Canadian asset manager Sprott to set up an offshore global resources fund. The vehicle fits in with China’s strategic interest in acquiring overseas energy assets required to sustain economic...
Korea’s Access Bio goes public, STIC PE expects 5x return
STIC Private Equity has made a partial exit from Korean biotech firm Access Bio after the company went public on the KOSDAQ exchange. The PE firm sold shares in two tranches – one just before the IPO and one during it – and has generated a money multiple...
Global investors to boost alternatives exposure – survey
Institutional investors expect to increase allocations to alternatives in 2013, with focus on real assets such as infrastructure and property, according to a survey by AMP Capital.
CDH, Goldman-backed Chinese pork producer bids for Smithfield
Shuanghui International, a Chinese pork producer that counts CDH Investments and Goldman Sachs among its investors, has offered $4.7 billion in cash for US-based Smithfield Foods. The proposed deal, which values Smithfield at $7.1 billion including debt,...
PE firms target SingTel’s Australian satellite unit
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has put its Australian satellite unit up for sale, seeking at least A$2 billion ($1.9 billion), and a string of private equity firms and strategic investors are said to be chasing the asset.
Warburg Pincus makes debut Vietnam investment
Warburg Pincus has made its first investment in Vietnam, leading a consortium that will pay $200 million for a 20% stake in the retail property platform of Vingroup, the country’s largest private-sector real estate operator.
Cambridge Associates to offer discretionary services in Singapore
Cambridge Associates has received a license to offer discretionary portfolio management services via its Singapore affiliate. The group has been operating in Asia since 2001, offering independent research and advisory services to institutional investors....
End of an era as KKR sells Seven West
With KKR's exit from Seven West Media, the two investments that arguably defined Australia’s boom market of the mid-2000s have now entered the history books.
Indonesia financial services: Too hot to handle
For all the foreign strategic interest in Indonesia’s financial services sector, most deals are thwarted due to a huge gap in price expectations. PE investors are steering clear of the mainstream and looking for niche value
The case for an LP presence in Asia
Time zones are a thorn in the side of LPs seeking to be more than just passive capital providers and participate more fully in GP relationships. The reality for the North American contingent that still meets the bulk of Asian managers’ capital needs...
Indonesia’s MPM to boost auto rental exposure, preps IPO
Mitra Pinasthika Mustika (MPM), the Indonesian motorcycle distributor in which Affinity Equity Partners and Saratoga Capital invested around $100 million last year, is looking to boost its car rental business. The comes as the company prepares to raise...