Dymon exits Singapore's AMES via trade sale

Financial terms were not disclosed. Dymon acquired AMES as a carve-out from Sembcorp in 2018, committing SGD 20m (USD 15m) from its second fund, which closed that year on USD 450m. The fund was mandated to invest in companies with profits of USD 5m-USD 30m.

Local engineering company Tee International participated as a minority shareholder and technical partner. The plan was to build out the business as a joint venture, leveraging Tee’s core capabilities in utilities and medical waste, although Dymon bought it out within six months.

TBS, whose revenues are dominated by coal, has increasingly sought to diversify its operations into cleantech and related themes in recent years. It currently positions itself as a sustainable energy company committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

“With this acquisition, TBS will continue its journey to invest in sustainable, renewable and essential infrastructure such as biohazardous waste management and electric vehicles,” Dicky Yordan, president director of TBS, said in a statement.

“This is a manifestation of our commitment to sustainability and how TBS can significantly improve the quality of community life and the environment in line with TBS2030 goals.”

It highlights a trend of fossil fuel companies using conventional energy revenue streams to invest in renewable and clean sustainable infrastructure to future-proof their business.

As recently as last week, RRJ Capital appeared to target this theme by investing USD 300m in Yinson Holdings, a Malaysia-listed oil and gas industry supplier planning to ramp up its cleantech investments.

AMES is recognized as the largest provider of biohazardous and medical waste treatment services in Singapore with a dominant market position, servicing the majority of public and private hospitals and healthcare institutions locally.

Dymon supported technical improvements to operations during its holding period, including an upgrade of the plant with a new shredder and filtration technology, as well the implementation of a GPS system for optimizing truck fleet navigation.

There were also significant changes in terms of employee health and safety during the pandemic. Office, plant, and fleet disinfecting services were ramped up. A safety awards incentive was introduced, and salaries were increased by more than 50% on average.

COVID-19 proved a boom time for AMES, with the company increasing its market share from 10% in 2018 to 75% by late 2021. Revenue and EBITDA began climbing in 2020 and were both up 40% year-on-year during the pandemic.

“During this period, we achieved undisrupted services with our frontline workers, and through our value creation strategy, built more resilience and secured more contracts and market share. We are pleased to learn that TBS is an experienced operator in this space,” Gabriel Ho, a partner at Dymon, added.

Dymon was established in 2012 as a private equity unit under hedge fund manager Dymon Asia Capital. The firm closed its third Southeast Asia fund last October on USD 650m. It typically pursues carve-outs and management buyouts, pre-IPO growth investments, and privatisations.

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• Topics
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• Trade sale
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