Articles by Tim Burroughs
Foreign RMB funds at a crossroads
Apparent confirmation that foreign-invested renminbi funds can’t qualify for local treatment has left the leading overseas private equity firms in a quandary. Life has become harder, but all is not lost
Q&A: HarbourVest's Sebastiaan van den Berg
Sebastiaan van den Berg, managing director at HarbourVest Partners, on what he looks for in a Chinese GP and why the firm recently decided to open an office in Beijing
Hahn & Co. buys Korean cement firm out of bankruptcy
One of the standout PE investment trends in Korea is taking ownership of assets from second-tier conglomerates that have run into difficulty and are forced to divest non-core assets. MBK Partners acquired Kumho Rent-A-Car in this fashion and it was also...
VIDEO: Advent Private Capital's Rupert Harrington
Western Australia is the country's fourth-largest state by population but the richest by natural resources and this has seen it emerge as the primary source of economic growth. This shift in momentum from east coast to west – coupled with the cyclical...
PE-owned oOh!Media tipped to buy Ten’s outdoor ad business
Australia’s Ten Network Holdings has entered into exclusive negotiations with a bidder for its outdoor advertising business, Eye Corp. The company didn’t disclose the identity of the bidder, but it is thought to be oOh!Media Group, which was bought...
Globis leads $3.6m Series A round for quiz developer
Globis, the Japanese venture capital firm, has led a GBP2.3 million ($3.6 million) Series A round of funding for Quipper, a UK quiz applications manufacturer. Benesse, a Japanese education and publishing company, and Atomico, the VC firm led by Skype...
India funds given six months to comply with new regulations
Indian private equity funds have been given a six-month window to comply with new rules governing alternative investment funds (AIFs). While existing vehicles are free to complete their investment cycles, they will not be able to raise fresh capital until...
PEP seeks buyers for Link Group – report
Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) has reportedly begun the auction process for Link Group, which could sell for as much as A$1.4 billion ($1.4 billion), including debt. It is poised to be Asia’s biggest private equity exit of the year.
Alibaba to buy back 20% of Yahoo’s stake for $7.1b
Alibaba Group has agreed to repurchase about a 20% stake in itself from Yahoo for $7.1 billion ahead of an initial public offering. The US internet company bought 40% of Alibaba - founded by Jack Ma (pictured) - in 2005, paying $1 billion plus ownership...
GSR, Oak lead $30m Series B round for SunSun Lighting
China-based LED manufacturer SunSun Lighting has raised $30 million in Series B financing from GSR Ventures and Oak Investment Partners in addition to commitments from its original angel investors. The investment comes nearly a year after SunSun secured...
Vistra launches umbrella fund structure
Vistra Fund Services has launched an umbrella fund structure through which clients can establish segregated portfolio or sub-funds in Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, the Netherlands and the UK. Known as the Privium Capital Fund, it offers a fast and cost...
Squire Sanders expands Greater China corporate team
Squire Sanders has hired corporate law specialists Jenny Liu and Xudong Ni as partners in its Beijing and Shanghai offices, while Sin Kiu Ng has joined the law firm in Hong Kong.
Man in the middle: Placement agents in Asia
Placement agents are building up resources in Asia as the region becomes more significant as a fundraising location. Some GPs are keen to build long-term relationships, but others take more convincing
Cast your vote in the 2012 AVCJ China Awards
Voting is now open for the 2012 AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards China. From now until May 18, we invite the entire Asia private equity community to single out the top investments, exits, fund raises, firms and professionals from the past...
India postpones anti-avoidance rules, cuts capital gains tax for PE
India has postponed the implementation of anti-avoidance legislation, which impacts the tax treatment of offshore structures used to channel capital into the country, and reduced the tax rate on capital gains arising from private equity transactions....
VIDEO: HarbourVest Partners' Sebastiaan van den Berg
It is a well established trend that Australian LPs are increasingly looking to internationalize their private equity exposure, arguably at the expense of domestic GPs. Foreign investors looking to enter Australia are not deterred. Sebastiaan van den Berg,...
China VC investment lowest in five years – VentureSource
Venture capital investment in China fell to its lowest level in more than five years in the first quarter of 2012, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. A total of 45 deals were completed, raising $745 million, down 39% by volume and 56% by value on the...
Goldman exits NZ retirement villages to Metlifecare
Goldman Sachs has exited its majority stake in New Zealand retirement village operator Vision Senior Living to Metlifecare. The acquisition – which includes Private Life Care Holdings as well as Vision – will be financed through Metlifecare issuing...
CITIC Capital hires Robert Lie for real estate group
CITIC Capital has appointed Robert Lie as managing director of its Hong Kong-based real estate group. He joins from Redevco Asia and will bring colleagues Jan Willem De Hek, Dennis Fung and Chenxia Yu with him.
PE-backed Ratnakar Bank targets IPO in 2014
Ratnakar Bank, a Kolhapur-based lender that received $157 million in private equity funding last year, plans to launch an IPO within two years. It is part of a wider transformation of Ratnakar into a nationwide operator providing end-to-end services.
Temasek generates $2.5b from China banks sell down
Temasek Holdings has sold down $2.48 billion of shares in Bank of China (BoC) and China Construction Bank (CCB). It comes less than a month after the Singapore sovereign wealth fund picked up a $2.3 billion stake in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China...
Intel Capital’s Kuppam adds Taiwan, Korea to his Asia portfolio
Intel Capital’s Asia Pacific Managing Director Sudheer Kuppam will assume responsibility for investment activity in Taiwan and Korea, adding to his existing coverage of India, Japan and Southeast Asia. Based in India, he will oversee a team of investment...
Leopard Capital to raise frontier markets PIPE fund
Leopard Capital Management is launching a long-only fund that will target PIPE deals in up to 12 frontier markets in Asia. It will invest in sectors perceived to drive frontier economies, including consumer products, financial services, infrastructure...
Franklin names Robinson-Kok as Asia alternatives head
Franklin Templeton Investments has appointed Gregory Robinson-Kok as head of its alternative investments business in Asia. He is based in Singapore and reports to Kent Strazza, managing director of the alternative strategies group.