Articles by Tim Burroughs
Billabong receives takeover bid from Altamont, VF Corp
Altamont Capital Partners has teamed up with US apparel company VF Corp. to submit a rival takeover bid for Billabong International. The consortium is offering to pay A$1.10 per share in cash – or A$527 million ($555 million) – for the Australia surfwear...
CVC completes another Samsonite selldown
CVC Capital Partners has exited HK$1.45 billion ($187 million) worth of shares in Samsonite International as part of a HK$2.24 billion sell-down with fellow investor Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
DCM invests in Chinese game developer Cmune
DCM has provided an undisclosed amount in Series A funding to Cmune, a China-based developer of 3D social games. The company is best known for UberStrike, which claims to the most popular first-person-shooter game on Facebook with 1.4 million monthly...
Freshfields adds William Woo to China corporate practice
William Woo, a specialist in capital markets, private equity and M&A work, has joined Freshfields’ corporate practice in Hong Kong. He was previously a partner at Orrick.
Buyout firms chase Warburg’s Alliance Tire stake - report
Private equity investors are said to be eying Alliance Tire Group after Warburg Pincus put a 70% stake in the Indian tire manufacturer on the block. Should the transaction go through, the price is likely to exceed $500 million, making it one of India’s...
CVC in talks to buy Philippines BPO asset – report
CVC Capital Partners is reportedly in exclusive talks to buy a majority stake in SPi Global Holdings from Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT). The deal is worth about $320 million including debt.
Fosun, IFC set up Asia-focused reinsurer
Fosun International has teamed up with International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, to enter the Asia Pacific reinsurance market. The newly established operation, Peak Reinsurance Company (Peak Re), has been licensed...
IFC backs Lighthouse’s second India SME fund
Lighthouse Funds has won a commitment of up to $25 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for its latest India-focused vehicle. The GP is targeting a corpus of $125 million for India 2020 Fund II, which will invest in small- and medium-sized...
EMPEA’s Alexander to join Abraaj
Sarah Alexander, CEO of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA), has agreed to join The Abraaj Group as a managing director. EMPEA’s executive committee has recommended that Jennifer Choi, currently vice president of industry and external...
Attractive China secondary targets rising at 25% per year – study
At least 200 private equity portfolio companies in China are attractive targets for potential secondary buyers and the number is likely to grow 15-25% per year as funds come to the end of their lives and find that exit options are still limited.
KKR boosts Masan Consumer stake with $200m investment
KKR has more than doubled its investment in Vietnam’s Masan Consumer Corp. (Masan), committing $200 million on top of the $159 million it paid for a 10% stake in the company two years ago. It is the largest ever private equity investment in Vietnam,...
India Awards: PE Professional of the Year – Sanjay Nayar
As head of KKR India, Sanjay Nayar presides over a private equity operation that is becoming ever more diversified to meet the needs of local entrepreneurs. He shared his market outlook with AVCJ.
India Awards: PE Deal of the Year – CARE Hospitals
Advent International spent four years scouting India’s healthcare market before settling on CARE Hospitals, and the transaction itself was complex. Now operating partners are on the ground supporting expansion.
India Awards: Exit of the Year – Genpact
Genpact has a strong claim as the pioneer of business process outsourcing (BPO) in India, an industry that employs 700,000 people is now worth nearly $11 billion. According to a report by Nasscom and Everest Group, India accounts for more than 35% of...
India Awards: VC Deal of the Year – Flipkart
In India's fiercely competitive e-commerce market, the mantra is eat or be eaten. Flipkart, through a combination of new funding and lateral acquisitions, has placed itself firmly in the former camp.
Blackstone appoints ex-PwC executive as Singapore chairman
The Blackstone Group has named Gautam Banerjee as Singapore chairman and appointed him to its international advisory board. He was previously executive chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore and also served as the accounting firm’s COO for China,...
China take-privates: A challenging proposition
Management buyouts of US-listed Chinese companies are all the rage, but these transactions present unique challenges in terms of execution. Only the good survive.
Carlyle completes China Pacific exit, takes total sales value past $5b
The Carlyle Group has completed what is said to be its largest-ever cash exit globally, selling the last of its interest in China Pacific Insurance for $796 million. The private equity firm has accumulated more than $5 billion through a series of block...
Wanxiang-backed fund exits D&R to strategic buyer
Summit Strategic Investments, a private equity fund controlled by Chinese auto parts manufacturer Wanxiang Group, has exited US-based D&R Technology to CTS Corporation.
Newgate Communications launches in Hong Kong
Newgate Communications has opened its first Asian office in Hong Kong, which is headed by Richard Barton, formerly Asia managing partner at Kreab Gavin Anderson (KGA). This is part of a broader strategic expansion initiative that will also see the firm...
Essex Woodlands promotes Barry, Yang in Shanghai
Silicon Valley-based healthcare investor Essex Woodlands has promoted David Yang and Scott Barry, who run its Shanghai office, to managing director. The promotions, two of five made by the company globally, came into effect on January 1.
GIC appoints Lim Chow Kiat as CIO
Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) has named Lim Chow Kiat as its new group chief investment officer, effective February 1. Lim, currently the sovereign wealth fund’s deputy CIO, will replace Ng Kok Song, who is retiring after 42 years...
Indonesia’s Berrybenka gets funding from Gree Ventures
Gree Ventures, the VC arm of social Japanese social networking giant Gree, has completed its third investment in Indonesia, providing a Series A round of funding to fashion-focused e-commerce start-up Berrybenka. The size of the investment was not disclosed.
China to see record PE deal flow in 2013 – PwC
China is likely to see record highs in terms of private equity deal volume and value in 2013, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, as a “perfect storm” of turmoil in the global economy and a slowing domestic economy allows investors to target larger-scale...