Articles by Tim Burroughs
Archer Growth prepares for Cura Day exit – report
Archer Capital Growth is reportedly preparing to exit Cura Day Hospitals Group. The Australian GP helped found the company in 2008, having teamed up with a group of doctors and medical specialists who manage and work at its nationwide network of day hospitals.
Billabong still in talks with TPG, presents turnaround strategy
Australian surfwear company Billabong International is understood to be continuing discussions with TPG Capital over a A$694 million ($723 million) buyout offer, even as it unveiled a turnaround strategy regarded as a move to preserve its current status.
Just Dial re-files for IPO, VCs plan partial exit
Just Dial, the Indian online listings provider, has filed for a domestic IPO that will see its venture capital investors exit a portion of their holdings. After an earlier attempt to list was shelved due to market uncertainty, the company completed a...
Goldman, KKR in talks with Chinese firm over Kion stake sale
Goldman Sachs and KKR are said to be in talks with Shandong Heavy Industry about selling a 25% stake in German forklift truck manufacturer Kion Group.
Carlyle sees rare scale opportunity in Meinian Onehealth
The Carlyle Group was drawn to China’s Meinian Onehealth because it represented one of few true nationwide healthcare services providers in a fragmented market.
India eases rules on entrepreneurs’ post-IPO lock-up
India has altered rules concerning the lock-up on entrepreneurs’ shares post-IPO in order to make it easier for companies to list. This is expected to support companies that go through several stages of private equity funding.
GGV reaches final close at $625m on fourth fund
GGV has reached a final close on its fourth fund at $625 million. The US- and China-focused venture capital firm, formerly known as Granite Global Ventures, has added RMB650 million ($105 million) to the $520 million already raised from US investors.
Freemont backs Indian eco-products start-up
Freemont Partners has invested in Natural Mantra, an Indian online start-up that sells eco-conscious products. The size of the transaction was not disclosed.
Asia PE investment: Korea makes a splash
With four deals of $350m or more in the last few weeks, South Korea has made its mark on Asia’s private equity investment league table. Why is it happening and can it continue?
Quadrant in quasi-secondary retail deal
Does Quadrant Private Equity's investment in Super A-Mart and Barbeques Galore constitute a quasi-secondary transaction?
China take-privates, part 34
One week, two private equity-backed management buyout offers for Chinese companies listed on NASDAQ, and a lot of fuss from (some, but not all) media outlets about how this is the start of something big. It’s not.
GE, VC firms to back Australasia cleantech start-ups
General Electric (GE) has teamed up with five venture capital firms in Australia and New Zealand on a $10 million fund that will support the development of clean technology. It is the company’s first ever local “ecoimagination” challenge and entries...
Actis invests in Sri Lanka’s Asiri Central Hospitals
Actis has purchased a 10.8% stake in Sri Lanka’s Asiri Central Hospitals for LKR604 million ($4.5 million). The emerging markets-focused private equity firm acquired 2.4 million shares in the Colombo-listed company from Softlogic Holdings, Commercial...
VIDEO: Shearman & Sterling's Lorna Chen
Foreign-backed renminbi funds are likely to struggle to raise capital in China after the regulator decreed that such vehicles don’t qualify for local treatment for investment purposes, says Lorna Chen, a partner at Shearman & Sterling
CalPERS invests $530m in two China-focused property funds
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has committed $530 million to two China-focused real estate funds run by ARA Asset Management, a Singapore-listed affiliate of Cheung Kong Holdings.
GGV receives commitments of $509m for fund IV
GGV Capital, the US and China-focused venture capital investor, has raised $508.9 million for its fourth fund. In addition to the main fund, the VC firm has attracted $10.8 million for a side vehicle known as GGV Capital IV Entrepreneurs Fund.
Mercer boosts Asia wealth management team
Mercer has appointed Edmund Teo to lead its wealth management team in Asia, providing research, advisory and portfolio management services to banks, insurers and other financial services organizations in the region. Pierre DeGagne also joins as a principal...
MBK agrees $1.1b deal for Korea’s Woongjin Coway
MBK Partners has agreed to pay KRW1.1 trillion ($1.1 billion) for a 31% stake in Woongjin Coway, the water purifier business of South Korean conglomerate Woongjin Holdings. It is the country’s joint-largest private equity transaction this year and brings...
China slowdown hampers emerging markets fundraising, investment
Fundraising by private equity firms focused on emerging markets reached $17.2 billion in the first six months of 2012, or nearly half of the $38.5 billion raised in 2011 as a whole, with a spike in emerging Europe counterbalancing a slowdown in China....
Navis profits from Pearson’s expansion drive
Pearson's M&A activity follows a familiar emerging markets theme. In May the education and publishing company bought GlobalEnglish, a cloud-based English-language learning specialist with 75% of its subscribers in Asia and Latin America.
Capsquare eyes early-stage Indonesia
There's little doubt that Indonesia is the flavor of the month in private equity circles at present, but questions remain over deal access. Information on private companies is sparse, local relationships rule, entrepreneurs are wary of selling equity...
Offshore investors: Leap into the unknown
With commitments from domestic LPs easing off, Australian, Japanese and Korean GPs are looking to raise capital from overseas investors. They are entering new territory and some are better prepared than others
History lessons of PE in Asia
With 2012 marking the 25th anniversary of the AVCJ Hong Kong Forum – and, give or take a year, the Asian Venture Capital Journal itself – we have been taking a trip down memory lane for some special content to be released later in the year. This involves...
Innovation Works raises $148m for fund II, yet to reach close
Innovation Works, the tech incubator started by Google’s former China head Kai-fu Lee, has so raised $148 million for its second fund. Lee confirmed to Sina that fundraising efforts began in April, but didn’t disclose the target size or details of...