GPs
Fundraising: First impressions
A successful introductory meeting doesn’t guarantee LP support but it is an important first step on the road to achieving it. GPs must be informed, engaging and polished – but not too polished
Q&A: Blackstone's Angelo Acconcia
The Blackstone Group has entered Southeast Asia's oil and gas space with an $800 million commitment to Tamarind Energy. Angelo Acconcia, managing director at Blackstone Energy Partners, explains the rationale
Evolution of the spin-out
Traditionally, private equity spin-outs have fallen somewhere along a scale that features autonomy at one end and greed (or, more kindly, a desire for talents to be appropriately rewarded) at the other, with innate entrepreneurism occupying the middle.
Asia trails the West on operational value-add - survey
Asian private equity firms lag behind their Western counterparts on operational value add, according to a new survey.
China Life to buy $250m TPG stake - report
China Life - the world's third largest insurer - is to acquire a stake in TPG Capital for $250 million.
Natixis Global forms private equity division
Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM) - a unit of the French investment bank Natixis - has established a private equity division to offer its investors a single point of access to six of its affiliate GPs.
Northstar reaches $500m first close on Southeast Asia fund
Southeast Asia-focused GP Northstar Group has reached a first close of approximately $500 million on its fourth fund.
Q&A: Ascendent Capital's Liang Meng and Kevin Zhang
M&A advisors turned PE investors, Liang Meng and Kevin Zhang pooled their experiences at J.P. Morgan, D.E. Shaw and Goldman Sachs to create Ascendent Capital Partners, and pursue a different kind of China strategy
Emerging markets fail to meet LP expectations – research
Emerging markets GPs have fallen substantially short of LP expectations, with top quartile funds achieving the desired 16% IRR in just two out of nine years between 2000 and 2011, according to new research.
US regulation: Shot across the bow
Private equity has been put on notice by the US regulators - an alarming notion, yet one that was sufficiently well signposted that GPs could see it coming. How keenly will the rumblings be felt in Asia?
Beyond the comfort zone: RMB GPs and US dollar funds
An increasing number of Chinese GPs that made their names in the renminbi space are looking to raise US-dollar funds. It requires a level of institutionalization that most have never seen before
Q&A: Mekong Capital's Chad Ovel
Chad Ovel turned around a portfolio company for Mekong Capital and then joined the PE firm as a partner. With the Vietnam-focused GP targeting $150 million for its third fund, he offers insights into a changing market
Private equity platforms: Matchmakers
Several online platforms have been launched with a remit to make exchanges between GPs and LPs more transparent and convenient. Do they complement existing processes or is fundraising set for reinvention?
Placement agents: Tapping tomorrow's investors
Asian LPs are a small but increasingly conspicuous part of the global institutional investor community. How can placement agents nurture pockets of growth in a potentially lucrative yet hugely imbalanced market?
PE firms and IPOs – again
Fifteen months ago this space was used to pour water on the notion of Asian private equity firms going public.
Operational value-add: Home-made remedies
Private equity firms, and the LPs, are placing greater emphasis on adding value to portfolio companies. But what is the best way of developing operational capabilities in Asia, and who should pick up the tab?
Co-investment: Toe in the water
Is co-investment worth it? Absolutely, provided the LP in question has sufficient willingness, experience and resources to conduct due diligence on a deal before the window of opportunity closes.
PE and elections: A vote of confidence?
Investors often cite elections as impediments to deal flow, as applications are delayed or applications held over until votes are counted. With Indonesia and India preparing for elections, what does it mean for PE?
The soft middle
What has become of the mid-market GP in Asia? If there is one area of the fundraising landscape that has hollowed out in the last year or so, this is it, giving credence to the notion of bifurcation.
Yunfeng seeks $1b for second China tech fund
Yunfeng Capital, a Chinese private equity firm established by Jack Ma and David Yu, founders of Alibaba Group and Target Media, respectively, is raising around $1 billion for its second fund. A first close of $600 million came last year and a final close...
Female representation in Asian PE drops in 2013, still leads other markets
Asia-based private equity firms still have a higher proportion of women in high-level roles than their North American and European counterparts, although the average representation is down on the previous year, according to a study.
Q&A: Creador's Brahmal Vasudevan
Creador is in the process of raising its second fund, which has a target of $250 million, to be deployed in Indonesia, Malaysia and India. CEO Brahmal Vasudevan explains where the firm is investing and why
Beyond the tapering terror
Limited partners around the globe are now returning to private equity opportunities in developed Western markets, especially those of the US, a number of recent surveys indicate. Asian private equity, and Southeast Asia in particular, has fallen a few...
KKR expands energy & infrastructure team into Asia
KKR has further bolstered its energy and infrastructure presence in Asia, appointing Tony Schultz as managing director in Sydney and relocating Ash Upadhyaya -a director with KKR's energy and infrastructure team in the US - to Singapore.