Articles by Tim Burroughs
KKR reaches $15b final close on fourth Asian fund
KKR has closed its fourth pan-Asian fund at $15 billion – the largest US dollar-denominated private equity vehicle ever raised for the region and the largest raised by KKR globally by number of LPs.
China's Source Code confirms $1b close on US dollar funds
Source Code Capital has confirmed a final close of $1 billion on its latest set of US dollar-denominated funds, which takes the Chinese venture capital firm’s total assets under management to $2.5 billion.
Japan payments start-up Paidy closes $120m Series D
Japanese payments start-up Paidy has raised $120 million in Series D funding from JS Capital Management, Soros Capital Management, Tybourne Capital Management, and Wellington Management.
FountainVest, ClearVue back China self-driving truck player
FountainVest Partners and ClearVue Partners have led a $220 million funding round for Plus, a China-based autonomous driving technology developer that specializes in trucks.
Trustar to launch China growth strategy
Trustar Capital, a Chinese middle-market private equity firm until recently known as CITIC Capital, is complementing its flagship buyout strategy with a growth capital-oriented fund.
Qingsong raises $153m for fourth China VC fund
Qingsong Fund, a Chinese venture capital firm formed by Xiaosong Liu, an angel investor and co-founder of Tencent Holdings, has closed its fourth renminbi-denominated fund with RMB1 billion ($153 million).
AVCJ daily bulletin returns April 7
AVCJ's daily bulletin is taking a short break for the Easter holiday. Publication will resume on April 7.
Applied terminates acquisition of Japan's Kokusai Electric
KKR’s $3.5 billion sale of Japanese semiconductor industry supplier Kokusai Electric to US-listed Applied Materials has fallen through due to regulatory approval issues in China.
IMM set for $222m exit from Korea's Taihan Electric Wire
IMM Private Equity has agreed to sell its 40% stake in Taihan Electric Wire, a Korea-based manufacturer of high-voltage cables to Hoban Construction for KRW251.8 billion ($222 million).
Fund focus: CityU promotes entrepreneur enablement
City University of Hong Kong plans to invest $64 million in creating 300 start-ups over the next three years, offering students and staff a more structured route to commercializing academic research
Deal focus: Affinity to close JobKorea’s technology gap
When Affinity Equity Partners was drawing up plans for JobKorea, it found Seek’s product innovations in Australia a useful reference point. This gave context to a $795 million acquisition
Deal focus: IvyCap’s timely 22x windfall
With the launch of its third fund a few weeks away, IvyCap Ventures leveraged strong investor interest in beauty e-commerce player Purplle to secure one of India’s largest rupee VC exits
VMS leads $190m round for China CDMO player Chime
VMS Group, a Hong Kong-based asset manager, has led a $190 million extended Series A round of funding for Chime Biologics, a Chinese contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO).
Wise Road agrees $1.4b take-private of Korea chipmaker
Wise Road Capital, a China-based private equity firm that focuses on high-tech investments, has agreed to privatize Korea’s Magnachip Semiconductor Corporation at a valuation of $1.4 billion.
China's Zhihu completes $522m IPO, endures volatile debut
Chinese question-and-answer platform Zhihu endured a difficult New York Stock Exchange debut, closing at a 10.5% discount to its IPO price on a day when US-listed Chinese stocks fluctuated wildly.
PE topples advisory as China Renaissance's key business
Fund management has become China Renaissance’s largest source of revenue, seven years after the firm – best known for providing private placement and M&A advisory services to Chinese internet companies – entered the private equity business.
Baring targets $8.5b for eighth pan-Asia fund
Baring Private Equity Asia is back in the market seeking $8.5 billion for its eighth pan-regional fund, less than 15 months after closing Fund VII at $6.5 billion.
China autonomous driving start-up TuSimple files for US IPO
TuSimple, a China and US-based developer of autonomous driving technology for trucks, has filed for a US IPO. Its backers include CDH Investments, Zhiping Capital, Sina Corporation, and Hong Kong hedge fund Composite Capital.
India's Dream Sports raises $400m, hits $5b valuation
Dream Sports, operator of India’s largest fantasy sports platform, has raised $400 million in funding led by TCV, D1 Capital Partners and Falcon Edge Capital. The post-deal valuation is nearly $5 billion.
Hony launches China healthcare, consumer SPAC
Hony Capital has joined a string of Chinese private equity managers with special purpose acquisition vehicles (SPACs), targeting $300 million for healthcare and consumer deals.
Asian GPs prioritize portfolio resilience - Bain & Co
Three out of five GPs in Asia Pacific would be willing to forego at least 5% of near-term profit if that sum could be invested in making their portfolio companies more resilient across a range of metrics.
Australia's Airwallex sees valuation hit $2.6b
Airwallex, an international payments technology provider that launched out of Melbourne, has closed a third tranche of Series D funding, taking the overall round to $300 million and its valuation to $2.6 billion.
Ares & SSG: Scale proposition
The merger of Ares Management and SSG Capital is among the largest ever seen in Asian alternatives. They are now pushing into new markets and segments, leveraging the combination of size and local resources
Q&A: OMERS’ Ani Deshmukh
Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) recently backed a spinout of Olympus Capital Asia’s credit team as Orion Capital Asia. Ani Deshmukh, a director with the Canadian pension fund, explains its regional strategy