Articles by Tim Burroughs
China's JD Property closes $800m Series B
Warburg Pincus and Hillhouse Investment have re-upped in JD Property, the infrastructure property asset management arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, as part of a USD 800m Series B round.
Australia's Carthona hits $75m first close on VC fund
Australia-based VC firm Carthona Capital has reached a first close of AUD 100m (USD 75m) – against a target of AUD 200m – on its fourth fund, which will add Web3 to its existing focus areas.
Quadrant secures $217m Australia IT services exit after two-year hold
Quadrant Private Equity has sold Australian IT enterprise services business Arq Group to NCS Group, a SingTel Group-owned IT and communications engineering player, for AUD 290m (USD 217m).
IIFL Private Equity targets $524m for latest India pre-IPO fund
IIFL Private Equity is seeking up to INR 40bn (USD 524m) in commitments for its latest India pre-IPO fund as part of a broad fundraising push intended to secure INR 70bn to INR 80bn across multiple strategies over the next 12 months.
India cricket metaverse start-up raises $100m
Insight Partners has led USD 100m Series A round for FanCraze, an Indian digital assets start-up that earlier this year launched a range of cricket-themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Diageo divests Korean whisky brand to local PE consortium
Global beverage giant Diageo has agreed to sell Windsor, Korea’s best-selling whisky brand, to Bayside Private Equity and Metis Private Equity for KRW 200bn (USD 163.2m).
PAG files for Hong Kong IPO
PAG, which has seen its assets under management (AUM) across private equity, credit, and real assets grow 6x to more than USD 50bn in the past decade, has become the first large-cap Asian manager to file for an IPO.
Goldman leads $900m stapled secondary for Baring Asia
Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) has completed a stapled secondary of nearly USD 900m, which saw an investor consortium commit capital to its eighth fund and take out positions in two earlier vehicles.
Liverpool Partners buys Australian fertility business
Australian healthcare player Healius has agreed to divest another asset to private equity, with the sale of its fertility business to Liverpool Partners for AUD 30.5m (USD 23m).
A91 leads $35m Series C for India beauty brand
A91 Partners has led a USD 35m Series C round for Plum, an India-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) personal care brand. Existing investors Unilever Ventures and Faering Capital also participated.
India's Ofbusiness secures $200m round for lending unit
OfBusiness, an India-based B2B platform focused on industrial supply chain and procurement services, has raised USD 200m in Series A funding for its lending unit.
Australia's IFM hits first close on long-hold fund
Australia’s IFM Investors has reached a first close of AUD 450m (USD 337m) on a long-term private capital (LTPC) fund designed to hold assets for 10 years or more. The overall target is around AUD 1bn.
Primavera SPAC to merge with Fosun-owned fashion platform
A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with ties to China-based private equity firm Primavera Capital Group has agreed to merge with global luxury fashion platform Lanvin Group at a pro forma enterprise valuation of USD 1.5bn.
India's Reliance buys VC-backed Clovia
Clovia, an India-based lingerie and sleepwear retailer backed by several VC investors, has been acquired by Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) at an approximate valuation of USD 140m.
Deal focus: Zeller makes its presence felt
Less than a year after launching its digital payments-led product suite, Australia-based Zeller has accumulated 11,000 merchant customers, raised over USD 100m, and achieved a USD 750m valuation
Leveraged finance: ESG sells
Private equity firms in Asia are increasingly willing to consider sustainability-linked credit facilities, and banks are generally happy to provide them. Speed is currently delaying standardisation
Trustar buys China condiments supplier
Trustar Capital, formerly known as CITIC Capital Partners, has acquired China-based food condiments supplier Beijing Salion Foods for an undisclosed sum.
PE-backed TuSimple ponders Asia asset spinout
TuSimple, a private equity-backed developer of autonomous driving technology for trucks that listed in the US less than 12 months ago, is considering a spinout of its Asia Pacific operations.
China's Rockets Capital hits $200m first close on debut fund
Rockets Capital, a Chinese investment firm co-founded by Bing Yuan, formerly COO of Hony Capital, in conjunction with the senior leadership of local electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng, has reached a first close of USD 200m on its debut fund. The overall...
PropertyGuru completes SPAC merger, trades flat
PropertyGuru, a private equity-backed Southeast Asia real estate portal, traded flat on its New York Stock Exchange debut following a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at an enterprise value of USD 1.36bn.
Japan mobile banking player Kyash gets $41m Series C
Altos Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Greyhound Capital, and StepStone Group are part of an investor group that has committed JPY 4.9bn (USD 41m) in Series D funding to Tokyo-based mobile banking start-up Kyash.
Livingbridge gets ESG-linked credit facility in Australia from Ares
Livingbridge has secured AUD 280m (USD 206m) in sustainability-linked credit facilities from Ares Management to support its acquisition of Australia-based waste management services provider Waste Services Group (WSG).
PE-owned Fitness First winds down in Hong Kong
Private equity-owned Fitness First has wound down its Hong Kong business, which accounts for eight out of approximately 90 centres in a network that extends into Southeast Asia, as pandemic-related restrictions took their toll.
Baring Asia to merge with EQT
EQT has agreed a EUR 6.8bn (USD 7.5bn) acquisition of Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA), having decided that organic expansion would unlikely deliver the Asia platform it desires to create a truly global business.