Dymon exits Southeast Asia engineering services business

The GP paid S$40 million ($29 million) for a 33% stake in Wah Loon in 2015, according to AVCJ Research. Alan Chong, who founded the business in 1988, remained the majority shareholder. Following Vinci’s full acquisition, he will continue as a managing director.

Wah Loon employs nearly 360 people – 315 in Singapore and 45 in Malaysia – who primarily work on data center construction projects as well as industrial, commercial and high-end residential developments. It is expected to generate EUR125 million in revenue this year. When Dymon invested, it said Wah Loon had 300 staff and reported $200 million in revenue for 2012.

Vinci, which provides project design, engineering, and maintenance services globally, said in a statement that the acquisition will support the growth of its business in Asia Pacific. It already has operations in New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, and India.

Dymon made the Wah Loon investment from its debut fund, which closed at S$300 million in 2012, with backing from Temasek Holdings, among others. The private equity firm is currently targeting $350 million for its second fund but is expected to raise in the region of $430 million. A first close of $325.1 million came in December 2017.

Wah Loon represents Dymon’s third exit, following the sales of wallpaper distributor Goodrich Global and healthcare facilities management company UEMS. The latter was picked up by Edgenta for S$185.9 million in late 2016, giving Dymon a more than 5x return on a two-year investment.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Industrials
• Support services
• Trade sale
• Real estate
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Dymon Asia