Archipelago acquires Malaysia's Coolblog, Ekuinas exits

Ekuinas said it had generated an IRR of 6.4% and a money multiple of 1.4x on the investment. The firm paid MYR50.8 million for its 60% position in the company in 2014, all of which has been exited to Archipelago. It identified Singapore-based Archipelago as the right partner based on its track record in fast-moving consumer goods and food and beverage (F&B).

Value-add measures during the holding period included streamlining operational processes and systems, new store openings, and penetration of mass-market regions, as well as product and marketing enhancements. Coolblog’s take-away kiosk concept and franchise model is believed to have facilitated scaling and access to cities and small towns.

The deal is notable for closing during lockdown conditions in Malaysia, which have cast doubts on the outlook for local brick-and-mortar businesses. Coolblog is one of the leading brands in the local beverage dessert kiosk market with more than 270 stores offering dozens of flavors and some 300 product variants. Sales increased from MYR34 million in 2017 to MYR46.9 million in 2019.

“We see tremendous potential in Coolblog. It has demonstrated robust growth as a business in terms of offerings and profitability,” Jovasky Pang, CEO of Archipelago, said in a statement. “With the growing population and rising youth demographic in Malaysia, we see more opportunities to grow the business. Archipelago has been looking for the right entry-point to strengthen our regional F&B and consumer portfolio, and the opportunity to invest in Coolblog is timely.”

Pang founded Archipelago in 2016 alongside Eng Khim Lim, formerly of Khazanah Nasional, and Kiat Chan, who has served as executive vice president of investments at Singapore Post. The firm closed its debut vehicle at $75 million in May 2019 and launched its second fund earlier this year with a target of $250 million. Businesses based in the Philippines will account for 40-50% of the corpus, with the rest deployed in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Buyouts
• Trade sale
• Consumer
• Malaysia
• Archipelago Capital Partners
• Ekuinas
• Food