Articles by Tim Burroughs
Gaja backs Indian auto sales network
Gaja Capital Partners has committed INR850 million ($17.3 million) to Carnation Auto, India’s largest independent multi-brand auto sales and service network. The capital will be used to consolidate Carnation’s service business and expand its secondhand...
US pension funds move to raise alternatives exposure
Two US pension funds, Georgia Employees’ Retirement System (GERS) and Ohio State Teachers’ Retirement System (OSTRS) have made moves to boost their exposure to alternative investments.
Carlyle loses Southeast Asia MD
The Carlyle Group’s Southeast Asia managing director, Anand Balasubrahmanyan, has left the firm after four-and-a-half years, having struggled to source deals in the region. This was conspicuously the case in Indonesia, a market popular with private...
CHAMP gets court approval for oOh!media takeover
CHAMP Private Equity has won approval from the Federal Court of Australia for its A$163 million ($176 million) acquisition of outdoor advertising company oOh!media. The firm consequently ceased trading on the Australian Stock Exchange on March 1.
Shearwater's Stead becomes Australia head at Olympus Capital Asia
Gary Stead, co-founder and managing director of Shearwater Capital Group, has become Australia country head at Olympus Capital Asia. The move came largely as a result of the difficulties raising a new fund.
PineBridge names David Jiang as CEO
David T. Jiang has been appointed CEO of PineBridge Investments, having previously spent seven and-a-half years as head of BNY Mellon Asset Management’s Asia Pacific operations. Win J. Neuger, Jiang’s predecessor, has assumed the role of vice chairman,...
China business leaders join 3i’s advisory board
3i Group has appointed two Chinese business leaders and one academic to its newly formed advisory board for the country. The new recruits are Frank Ning, chairman of food conglomerate COFCO, Dr Bing Xiang, founding dean of Cheung Kong Graduate School...
CPPIB names Mark Wiseman as new CEO
Mark Wiseman will become the next CEO of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) when current head David Denison retires at the end of June.
TPG rivals mull bids for Billabong – report
The Blackstone Group and KKR are reportedly considering bids for Billabong after the Australian surfwear company rejected TPG Capital’s A$841 million ($904 million) offer but said it was willing to engage with any party that make an attractive proposal.
Leveraged lenders seek common ground
Australia’s banks have proposed a standard set of rules on who can do what in the event of a default. They say it will stimulate the mezzanine market but junior lenders claim the measures are too restrictive
Q&A: Archer Capital's Peter Wiggs
At a time when Australian GPs are seeing changes in everything from LP bases to exit options, Peter Wiggs, managing director of Archer Capital, says that a consistent investment strategy can pay dividends
An Australian-Asian story
Australia is the exception in Asian private equity: a market in which buyouts are routine, leveraged finance is readily available and entry and exit activity is relatively transparent. It is, one is tempted to say, Japan without the intrigue and inscrutability.
IFC backs Saratoga-led investment in power producer
International Finance Corp. (IFC), the World Bank’s investment arm, has paid up to $25 million for an 11% stake in Indonesian electricity producer Medco Power International (MPI). It is part of a $112 million investment by a Saratoga Capital-led consortium...
Billabong rejects improved $904m offer from TPG
TPG Capital has increased its takeover bid for Billabong International by 10% to A$841 million ($904 million) but the Australian surfwear company is still not interested. It said that the increased price of A$3.30 per share, up from A$3 per share, doesn’t...
Tano, TVS, Wolfensohn back Development Credit Bank
Tano Capital, TVS Capital and Wolfensohn Capital Partners will between them purchase a 10.34% stake in India’s Development Credit Bank for INR1 billion ($20.4 million). They are paying INR47.84 per share, a 1.89% premium to the company’s closing price...
Billabong still in talks with TPG over buyout offer
Talks are ongoing between TPG Capital and Billabong over the private equity firm’s A$765 million ($820 million) takeover bid for the Australian surfwear manufacturer. TPG made a revised offer last week but it was still at the same indicative price of...
South Korea’s Hi-Mart attracts interest from Tesco – report
Hi-Mart, the South Korean electronics retailer that Affinity Equity Partners exited in 2008, is about to change hands once again, with UK retailer Tesco tipped to bid for the asset. Several South Korean retailers are also said to be interested, as are...
Pantheon’s Lim promoted to partner in Hong Kong
Pantheon has elevated Hong Kong-based Brian Lim from portfolio director to partner. It is one of four promotions across four offices by the global fund-of-funds manager.
Western Australia moves forward on sovereign fund plans
The Western Australia government appears to have accelerated plans to set up a sovereign wealth fund to accrue a portion of the profits being generated by the region’s natural resources. Premier Colin Barnett mooted the prospect of a future fund that...
Sony, Toshiba get state funding for outbound investment
Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. will be the first companies to receive capital from a $100 billion government fund set up last year to finance overseas acquisitions and minimize the impact of a rising yen. The strength of Japan’s currency has hurt export...
Quadrant, APN announce outdoor advertising JV
Quadrant Private Equity has agreed to form an outdoor advertising joint venture with APN News & Media worth A$272 million ($289 million). APN had decided further investment was required to support expansion and entered into exclusive negotiations with...
SEC files lawsuit against executives of Chinese coal company
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against two Chinese executives from Puda Coal, accusing them of shifting its main asset to a third-party company and then selling a stake to CITIC Trust. Ming Zhao and Liping Zhu, chairman...
Baird Private Equity names Asia hand Carbone global head
Robert W. Baird & Co. has appointed Gordon Pan as head of its global private equity group. He succeeds Paul Carbone, who has joined Chicago-based investment firm The Pritzker Group.
Asia’s aspirational brands: It’s how you pick ‘em
Should we be surprised that L Capital, the private equity arm of luxury goods giant LVMH, thinks its Asia operations have the capacity to handle a $1 billion fund? Given the scale of consumer sector opportunities in the region, not really. But a more...