TEMASEK-OWNED Heliconia Capital Management is taking a minority stake in homegrown gaming chair brand Secretlab, in a deal estimated at S$200 to S$300 million.

This is the first outside investment for Secretlab, which was founded in 2014 by former professional gamers Ian Alexander Ang, 27, and Alaric Choo, 31.

Secretlab joins the ranks other young and fast-growing companies backed by Heliconia, which include gaming hardware manufacturer Razer and mixed martial arts company ONE Championship. Heliconia's mandate is to identify and support Singapore-headquartered companies to become globally competitive companies.

Heliconia's backing will boost Secretlab's research and development initiatives, procurement of supply chain, and ability to attract talent and global partnerships that will take it to the next level, said the company in a media release on Tuesday.

With just over 60 staff in Singapore, Secretlab's chairs are sold in over 50 countries, with over 200,000 sold to date. Secretlab was also among the winners of the Emerging Enterprise Awards in 2017, jointly organised by OCBC Bank and The Business Times.

On the partnership, Mr Ang said: "We've never seen ourselves taking up an outside investor, as we've always done things in our own unique way, and Secretlab is a self-sustaining business."

But the team at Heliconia and Temasek changed their minds. "We see this as adding turbos to our engines, and we can't wait to see where we can journey with them," said Mr Ang.

Heliconia's CEO Derek Lau said that despite Secretlab being founded only a few short years ago, it is now a "recognised global brand" well-known for its gaming seats.

"Even non-esports fans love their products. We believe the company has significant growth potential," he said. "We hope to add value and journey with them going forward."