Articles by Tim Burroughs
Lightspeed completes $4b global fundraising effort
Lightspeed Venture Partners has raised $4 billion across early and growth-stage funds, including $1.5 billion for an opportunity fund that will support breakout companies in global markets such as China, India and Southeast Asia.
Baring Asia executives forgo salary to support COVID-19 efforts
Baring Private Equity Asia’s (BPEA) investment committee, including CEO Jean Eric Salata, will contribute 100% of their annual base salaries to a COVID-19 relief fund. The $5 million vehicle will also include commitments from the firm’s balance sheet...
Zerobridge highlights Asia distress opportunities
Distress and special situations investors will see plenty of opportunities in Asia’s middle market as companies struggling with coronavirus-driven liquidity issues consider restructuring options, according to debt advisory firm Zerobridge Partners.
Blackstone-owned Burger King NZ enters receivership
The Burger King New Zealand franchise, which was acquired by The Blackstone Group for NZ$108 million ($86 million) in 2011, has been placed into receivership.
LPs worried about denominator effect as capital calls rise - survey
LPs are receiving more capital calls from private equity firms following the coronavirus outbreak, with the concurrent drop in public market valuations prompting concerns about overallocation to the asset class, according to a survey by the Institutional...
VIG makes second Korea funeral services acquisition
Korea’s VIG Partners has made the second investment from its fourth fund – which closed at $810 million in January – with an agreement to acquire Preedlife, the country’s leading funeral services provider.
1Q analysis: Impact winter
As the coronavirus outbreak escalated into a global pandemic, what was a problem for China investors quickly spread into other geographies. Fundraising, investment and exits inevitably took a hit
Profile: 500 Startups' Khailee Ng
Khailee Ng’s transition from start-up founder to VC investor has made him happier and healthier. He plans to continue pushing 500 Startups into uncharted territory within Southeast Asia
Qiming defies coronavirus to close seventh China fund at $1.1b
Qiming Venture Partners has closed its seventh US dollar-denominated China fund at $1.1 billion following an approximately two-month process that involved a last-minute relocation of on-site due diligence from Shanghai to San Francisco.
AVCJ daily bulletin returns April 14
AVCJ's daily bulletin is taking a short break for the Easter holiday. Publication will resume on April 14.
Coronavirus & capital calls: Time to draw?
With GPs and LPs placing a premium on liquidity, there is more scrutiny of capital call processes. Some managers are pushing for changes to documentation, but will investors relent?
Asia PE investment falls to six-year low in first quarter
Private equity fundraising, investment and exits all fell to multi-year lows in the first quarter of 2020 as the economic fallout from coronavirus outbreak forced investors to focus on existing portfolio exposure and made them wary of making new commitments.
HighLight-backed Zentalis raises $165m in US IPO
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, a US-based cancer drug developer, raised $165.2 million in its NASDAQ IPO, facilitating a liquidity event for Chinese healthcare investment specialist HighLight Capital.
HarbourVest hires Japan Post Insurance's alternatives head
Tadasu Matsuo, head of alternative investments at Japan Post Insurance (JPI), has joined HarbourVest Partners as a managing director where he will co-lead Japan coverage alongside Tatsuya Kubo.
CVC closes fifth Asia fund at $4.5b
CVC Capital Partners has closed its fifth Asia fund at the hard cap of $4.5 billion. The firm said the step up from $3.5 billion for Fund IV reflects an expansion in its regional investment capabilities.
Ocean Link seeks $7b privatization of China's 58.com
Ocean Link, a Chinese private equity firm that targets travel, tourism and related consumer subsectors, has made a take-private offer for online classifieds marketplace 58.com that values the business at approximately $7 billion.
VC-backed Chinese AR start-up raises $26m in US IPO
WiMi Hologram Cloud, a PE-backed Chinese augmented reality (AR) technology developer, traded flat on its opening day on NASDAQ following a $26.1 million IPO.
Japan's GPIF names ex-Goldman executive as CIO
Eiji Ueda, formerly co-head of securities for Goldman Sachs in Asia Pacific, has replaced Hiromichi Mizuno as CIO of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF).
KKR hires BAML executive in Japan
KKR has recruited Hidekazu Harada, previously co-head of Japan investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), as a managing director for its private equity team in Tokyo.
Japan mobile banking player gets $45m Series C
Kyash, a Tokyo-based mobile banking start-up, has received $45 million in Series C funding led by Greenspring Associates and Goodwater Capital.
Hillhouse leads $1b round for China’s Yuanfudao
Chinese online education start-up Yuanfudao has seen its valuation soar to $7.8 billion on closing a $1 billion funding round led by Hillhouse Capital.
Ashurst hires Danny Tan as Asia investment funds head
Ashurst has recruited Danny Tan from Allen & Gledhill to lead its investment funds practice in Asia Pacific. He will continue to be based in Singapore.
China LP defaults: Battle of wills
A protracted legal dispute between a cross-border private equity firm and a Chinese investor is a reminder of the difficulties that can arise over fund defaults. Negotiation is always the preferred course of action
China's Wanda exits Ironman to strategic, PE buyers
Wanda Sports Group, the sports, media and marketing subsidiary of Chinese real estate conglomerate Wanda Group, has sold the Ironman brand to two US-based investors for an enterprise valuation of $730 million.