Articles by Tim Burroughs
VIDEO: Sterling Partners' Eric Becker
Some private equity firms in emerging Asian markets still shirk at being labeled specialist, arguing that a narrow focus risks missing out on a wealth of growth opportunities. The US, several decades down the line in terms of the private equity development...
Standard Chartered PE commits $22m to India’s Karaikal Port
Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) has invested INR1.3 billion ($22.8 million) in Karaikal Port, a unit of Indian infrastructure and real estate company Marg Group. It joins existing PE shareholders IDFC Project Equity, Ascent Capital Advisors and...
Groupon’s China business to merge with Tencent
Group-buying website Groupon is merging its China operations, known as Gaopeng, with a similar site owned by domestic internet company Tencent Holdings. Gaopeng was created in late 2010 as a joint venture between Groupon and Tencent. The Tencent Collaboration...
CNEI secures 9.4x return on partial exit from Liyuan Aluminum
China New Enterprise Investment (CNEI) has completed a partial exit from Jilin Liyuan Aluminum, one of the country’s leading aluminum extrusion product manufacturers, securing a 9.4x gross return.
China considers new rules for private funds
Chinese legislators are reviewing a draft amendment to the Securities Investment Funds Law that would impose new regulations on private equity vehicles. The changes are designed to restrict illegal fundraising and insider trading.
KKR takes majority stake in Australia’s GenesisCare
KKR has picked up a 63% interest in Australia’s GenesisCare, which provides services to patients with cancer and cardiovascular disease. It represents the latest in a string of healthcare sector deals by private equity firms, with TPG Capital and The...
General Mobile gets $5m from Singtel Innov8, Mitsui
SingTel Innov8 and Japan’s Mitsui & Co. have led a $5 million round of funding for General Mobile, a company that provides mobile internet services to customers in emerging markets. Existing investors in General Mobile include Taiwan-based MediaTek,...
CVC buys into C.Banner’s organic growth story
Over the course of 17 years, C.Banner Holdings has become China’s third-largest ladies footwear retailer, building up a network of more than 1,800 outlets and four self-developed brands. Growth has been entirely organic: Chinese retailers habitually...
New Zealand’s MOVAC closes third fund at $33m
New Zealand-based early-stage investor MOVAC has raised NZ$42 million ($33.2 million) for its third fund. It will invest sums of NZ$1-5 million in local companies with an established track record that require growth capital.
Asia LP interests: The price factor
Global LPs have no intention of reducing their exposure to Asia. This has put upward pressure on secondaries prices, but assessing fair value is more difficult than it seems
Q&A: CVC Asia's Roy Kuan
Roy Kuan, managing partner of CVC Asia, looks back on a busy first half of 2012 in which the firm closed five deals. Falling valuations, planning and patience are among the key factors
Before going direct, go local
The way in which global buyout firms have built up their local expertise in Asia in recent years so as to compete more effectively with smaller regional and single-country funds is a clear reminder of the value of having people on the ground. Although...
Morgan Stanley invests $210m in Continuum Wind Energy
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners has agreed to buy a majority stake in Continuum Wind Energy for INR12 billion ($210 million). The Singapore-based company, which was set up Essar Group executive Vikas Saraf and investment banker Arvind Bansal, runs...
Billabong poised for takeover as share price tumbles
Australian surfwear retailer Billabong International saw its stock slump 36% when it resumed trading on Monday following a heavily discounted $225 million rights issue. The company is now worth less than one third of the value of TPG Capital’s A$841...
Milestone backs China restaurant chain IPO
Milestone Capital Partners has agreed to become a cornerstone investor in Chinese restaurant chain Xiao Nan Guo’s Hong Kong IPO. The company is looking to sell 341.25 million shares at HK$1.50 to raise HK$511.5 million ($65.9 million). A Milestone subsidiary...
MBK named preferred bidder for Korea’s Hi-Mart
MBK Partners has been chosen as the preferred bidder for South Korean electronics retailer Hi-Mart. The company said in a statement to the Korean Stock Exchange that its largest shareholder, Eugene Corp, had made the decision.
KKR reaches halfway point on $6b Asia fund
KKR has reached the halfway point in fundraising for its second Asia fund, receiving more than $3 billion in commitments. According to a regulatory filing, third-party investors have pledged $2.76 billion to KKR Asian Fund II, with general partners putting...
Indonesia's Saratoga closes fund three at $600m
Saratoga Capital has closed its third fund at $600 million, according to sources familiar with the situation. It took the Indonesia-based firm about six months to close the new vehicle, which will make investments across Southeast Asia.
Temasek talks up China, favors property, financials, healthcare
Temasek Holdings has reaffirmed its commitment to China, saying that urbanization and the rise of the middle classes will continue to drive the economy forward regardless of short-term concerns about slowing growth. Real estate, healthcare and energy...
KKR to establish investment team in Singapore
KKR will open an office in Singapore as a base for its investment activities across Southeast Asia. AVCJ understands that an announcement is forthcoming, with about eight investment professionals working out of the new office, although Ming Lu, the firm’s...
Carlyle hires Neeraj Bharadwaj as India MD
The Carlyle Group has appointed Neeraj Bharadwaj as a managing director for its Asia operations in Mumbai. It emerged last week that he was the private equity firm’s preferred candidate for the role.
RRJ Capital targeting $5b Asia fund – report
RRJ Capital, the private equity firm set up by former Hopu Investment Management executive Richard Ong, is looking to raise at least $5 billion for its second pan-Asian fund. The vehicle will follow its predecessor in focusing on China- and Southeast...
Deloitte expands SE Asia debt advisory, restructuring practice
Deloitte has hired three executives from Rothschild for its Southeast Asia debt advisory and restructuring practice. Robert Schmitz, Richmond Ang and NK Naginlal Modi all performed similar functions at Rothschild.
Australian businesses don’t trust PE – PwC survey
Only 5% of small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Australia that are currently seeking funding would consider private equity as a source of capital, according to a survey published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).