Investment criteria

We pursue investments along one of three pathways:

  • Pathway 1: A business with annual profitability of > US$1.5m
  • Pathway 2: Revenues of US$1m+ per annum with owners open to active operational management
  • Pathway 3: A minority investment following-on from having engaged in our shared support services

A pre-requisite is any investment must support our ESG goals (see more here). Target-specific criteria we consider:

Geographies

We target the following countries in SE Asia:

  • Hong Kong
  • Malaysia
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Thailand

We also consider Japan, especially where companies are engaged in cross-border trade with SE Asia / APAC

Sector

We focus on industries that are data rich and / or where digitalisation can have most impact. This leads to a focus on:

  • Healthcare
  • Business support services
  • Education

We will selectively consider other sectors where we feel we can contribute genuine impact

Ownership

We start with controlled minority positions, as we prefer to partner with owners to unlock growth.

We are open to acquiring up to 100% provided a viable middle management team exists.

Overall, we like to see sellers retain "skin-in-the-game" - if they believe in their business, then we want them to share in its upside

Performance

We look at businesses that can demonstrate over the prior 3 years consistent:

  • Revenue growth
  • EBITDA margins

We do not invest in loss-making enterprises or corporate turnarounds