Navis-owned Village Grocer makes Malaysia bolt-on

The deal will see Village Grocer Holdings (VGH) take a 100% stake in BIG from conglomerate the Big Group, which is divesting its retail grocery branch in order to focus on its food and beverage business. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Village and BIG will continue to operate as separate brands following the takeover and BIG’s current management will remain in charge of the business. The combined company will have 13 outlets and annual revenue of MYR560 million ($127 million).

Village was founded in 2004 and sells a wide variety of both locally produced and imported foods and specialty goods, seeking to satisfy rising dietary standards among Malaysia’s middle class. The company currently operates 10 locations, mainly in Kuala Lumpur.

“With this acquisition, we have an opportunity of extracting procurement and operational synergies to better serve a growing market segment,” said VGH Executive Chairman Ong Kim Too in a statement. “Most importantly, we are able to provide the increasingly discerning Malaysian consumers with a wider range of local as well as imported products that are of the highest quality, freshness and value.”

Navis bought VGH in 2014, according to AVCJ Research, paying $68.7 million for an 80% stake. The firm made the investment from its sixth Asia fund, which closed in 2010 with $1.2 billion in total commitments.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Buyouts
• Malaysia
• Navis Management