Asia
Secondary volumes decline in 2016 – survey
Global secondary market volume reached $42.15 billion last year, failing to eclipse the consecutive record annual totals of $49.3 billion and $49.6 billion in 2014 and 2015, according to Setter Capital.
Ex-HarbourVest Asia head nominated for US navy secretary
President Donald Trump has announced that Philip Bilden, who previously led the Asia operation of HarbourVest Partners, will be his nominee for US navy secretary.
Baird Capital appoints Asia partner
Baird Capital, the direct private investment arm of Robert W. Baird & Co, has recruited Andy Tse, formerly managing director of AIF Capital, as a partner.
NYSTRS commits $100m to MBK's fourth North Asia fund
New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS) has disclosed a commitment of $100 million to MBK Partners’ fourth North Asia buyout fund, which closed at $4.1 billion in December 2016.
LP interview: The Dietrich Foundation
The Dietrich Foundation has an unusually large allocation to PE and VC, and to China venture capital in particular. CIO Edward J. Grefenstette discusses the considerations that underpin this exposure
Skadden hires Asia fund formation partner from Ropes
Skadden has appointed Geoffrey Chan, formerly head of the Asia private investment funds practice at Ropes & Gray, as partner and head of its Asia Pacific investment management practice.
PE-backed e-Shang Redwood buys Singapore industrial REIT
E-Shang Redwood (ESR), a pan-Asian logistics services company backed by Warburg Pincus, has moved into Southeast Asia with an agreement to buy 80% of Cambridge Industrial Trust (CIT), a Singapore real estate investment trust (REIT) with assets worth S$1.4...
LPs see limitations as well as opportunities in Asia co-investment
Co-investment opportunities are increasing in Asia, with LPs pushing for direct exposure to deals and GPs more willing and able to bring them in, but they do not appeal to all institutional investors.
Asia secondaries challenged by valuation complications
Valuations remain a key obstacle to securing secondary transactions in Asia, even as a generation of funds becomes a year older and still struggles to generate liquidity, but the market is also growing in complexity due to the nature of the assets on...
LPs must address staffing constraints as Asian opportunities multiply
Global LPs targeting increasingly complex opportunity sets in Asia must streamline their activity and employ a range of techniques to reconcile shortages in investment team resources, panelists told the Hong Kong Venture Capital & Private Equity Association's...
VIDEO: Ilfryn Carstairs, Värde Partners
Ilfryn Carstairs, co-CIO of Värde Partners, discusses distress and structured credit opportunities globally and in Asia
Faster food: PE and restaurant franchising
Franchising out restaurant chains - one of the major objectives for the new PE-backed McDonald's China partnership - is a popular ploy for investors across Asia as they pursue scale. But it is not without risk
TPG targets up to $4.5b for seventh Asia fund
TPG Capital is seeking between $4 billion and $4.5 billion for its seventh pan-Asian fund, having closed the previous vehicle at $3.3 billion in 2014 after a challenging two-year-plus process.
Fund focus: LPs sign up for Axiom's simple solution
Changes in the market and turnover in the team notwithstanding, Axiom Asia secured $1 billion for a fourth fund much like its previous three: a co-mingled fund-of-funds that offers exposure to hard-to-access GPs
4Q analysis: Big ticket bias
Ausgrid deal obscures weak investment environment; fundraising returns to normal after state-backed blitz; China’s IPO market is on the mend, but public market problems undermine Asia exits
VIDEO: Michael Chu & Ravi Thakran, L Catterton
Michael Chu, global co-CEO at L Catterton, and Ravi Thakran, managing partner and chairman of L Catterton Asia, discuss the merger of Catterton and L Capital
Axiom raises $1b for fourth Asian fund-of-funds
Axiom Asia has closed its fourth pan-regional fund-of-funds at just over $1 billion, sticking to its tried and tested model of a single co-mingled vehicle with no separately managed accounts. The initial target was $750 million.
PE-backed e-Shang Redwood gets $300m pre-IPO round
E-Shang Redwood (ESR), a pan-Asian logistics services company backed by Warburg Pincus, has received a $300 million pre-IPO investment from a consortium of Chinese investors.
GP-LP: Rules of engagement
Large LPs want to reduce the number of PE managers in their portfolios and generate more value from the outperformers that remain. The GP-LP relationship is becoming closer and more complicated
AVCJ Awards 2016: AVCJ Special Achievement: K.Y. Tang
K.Y. Tang was among the pioneers of leveraged buyouts in Asia while at UBS Capital Asia. He subsequently spun out to form Affinity Equity Partners, where the success continues
AVCJ Awards 2016: Fundraising of the Year - Large Cap: PAG Asia Capital
Having paid careful attention to liquidity levels in its debut vehicle, PAG Asia Capital took less than seven months to close its second regional fund at $3.6 billion
Asian LPs contribute 23% of Apax's $9b global fund
Asia-based investors account for just under one quarter of commitments to Apax Partners’ latest global fund, which has closed at the hard cap of $9 billion after less than a year in the market.
HarbourVest's Kelvin Yap promoted to managing director
HarbourVest Partners has promoted Hong Kong-based Kelvin Yap, who focuses on growth equity and buyout investments in Asia Pacific, to managing director.
Timeline: 2016 by numbers
A selection of the key fundraising, investment and exit events - presented in chronological order - from the past 12 months