From one-man show to SGX: Skylink on track for listing via reverse takeover
The company will also be the second vehicle company to be listed on SGX in 2025
[SINGAPORE] Wesley Shen had zero experience in selling any kind of vehicle when he joined the commercial vehicle arm of Toyota dealership Borneo Motors, Hino, in 2012.
He was an aircraft maintenance engineer with lofty ambitions of becoming a millionaire, and had decided to make a career switch to make his dream come true.
Fast forward 13 years, and Shen is now anticipating the listing of his commercial vehicle leasing company Skylink Apac on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
Sincap Group, a Catalist-listed company which has suspended trading of its shares since 2021, lodged its prospectus on Aug 20 for a reverse takeover (RTO) of Skylink Apac.
The RTO was first announced in March 2025.
Under the sale and purchase agreement, valued at S$42.3 million, Sincap will pay S$27.5 million in new shares issued at 22.5 cents a share and S$800,000 in cash.
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The remaining S$14 million will be structured as an earn-out, contingent on Skylink achieving a profit target of S$7.3 million across financial years 2025 and 2026.
SAC Capital is serving as the financial adviser, sponsor and placement agent for the RTO.
If the deal is successful, Sincap Group will be renamed Skylink Holdings. It is expected to hold an extraordinary general meeting on Sep 11.
Skylink will also be the second vehicle company to be listed on SGX in 2025. Car dealer Vin’s Holdings raised S$6 million from its initial public offering on the Catalist board in April.
With a fleet of over 1,200 commercial vehicles including vans, light goods vehicles and heavy trucks, Skylink Apac is the third largest among motor vehicle leasing companies in Singapore.
It runs three main businesses – leasing; financing for clients taking on loans for their vehicles; and an engineering arm comprising maintenance repair and overhaul services and engineering solutions to meet customers’ customisation needs.
The company reported S$15 million in revenue for financial year 2024, up 80 per cent from the previous year’s S$8.3 million.
Gross profit also tripled from S$1.7 million in 2023 to S$5.1 million in 2024, while its loan book for its credit business also ballooned from S$24.2 million to S$65.4 million.
Another subsidiary of the Skylink Group – Skylink Auto, which operates import, wholesale and retail sales of brand new and pre-owned commercial vehicles – is not part of the RTO.
With financial year 2024 ending on a solid footing, Shen, who is chief executive of Skylink, said: “In order to continue our high-growth trajectory, I decided that listing the company would be the best way to raise capital to access more resources.”
He added that this would also allow the company to draw more talent and build a stronger team.
Teh Wing Kwan, non-executive chairman of Sincap, is an experienced RTO orchestrator. He was most recently involved in healthcare group Livingstone Health’s sale to Citicode, formerly a mechanical and electrical engineering firm, via an RTO in 2020.
Sincap listed on the Catalist board in 2012 and was previously engaged in alumina and thermal coal trading until its supply chain was vastly disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It applied for voluntary trading suspension of its shares thereafter.
Teh said Skylink’s strong financials and fundamentals played a crucial role in the deal, noting that it serves blue-chip and reputable clients.
“The adaptability of the business and the capability of the management are key to the next phase of growth,” he said.
He added that the company expects to raise about S$9.2 million in gross proceeds via placement shares and convertible bonds.
According to Skylink, the commercial vehicle leasing industry is expected to reach over S$1 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of between 9.1 per cent and 11.1 per cent.
Shen said his first priority after the deal’s completion is to grow Skylink’s loan book.
“While the vehicle leasing business is our largest revenue generator, our credit business has the highest return on investment, with over 40 per cent profit margin.”
Scaling the loan book would allow Skylink to hit its growth targets and expand other areas of the business, he said.
This includes expanding Skylink’s engineering solutions business to support more complex customisations for construction vehicles, as the company anticipates a construction boom and higher demand for vehicles as a result.
Mergers and acquisitions will also be a top priority, especially when the market is currently fragmented with small and large operators, lending to an environment that is ripe for strategic partnerships or consolidation, Shen said.
Overseas acquisitions are a possibility, he added.
Skylink was established in 2016 as a one-man operation, with Shen handling everything from sales canvassing to delivery of vehicles and financial accounting.
He managed to sell over 100 vehicles on his own in his first year.
Shen, 43, was born in Guangxi province in China to parents who were rice farmers.
After his first year at Changchun University in China’s Jilin province, he took a leave of absence to go to Beijing, a 10-hour drive away, without his parents knowing.
He worked a string of part-time jobs, including waitering and selling air-conditioners, in order to save enough money for his tuition fees to alleviate the financial burden on his family.
That was when he learnt about a scholarship opportunity to study in Singapore, and he made the bold decision to relocate on his own in 2003 on a family loan and with just a limited proficiency in the English language.
Shen graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a diploma in mechatronics engineering and began his career as a licensed aircraft engineer after completing an apprenticeship with SIA Engineering.
Working on the sales teams at Hino and industry leader Goldbell Engineering gave Shen the confidence to start Skylink on his own. A year later, he was able to build a team of 10 staff, and the company finally had an official presence with a 3,000 sq ft showroom in Toh Guan.
In 2018, the company expanded from vehicle trading into leasing as well as in-house financing.
This proved to be a game changer for Skylink’s growth – within a year, its fleet grew from 30 vehicles to over a hundred, and its trading volume exceeded S$30 million.
This huge increase in customer demand also prompted Shen to set up Skylink’s workshop business in 2019, forming an ecosystem for his entire commercial vehicle business.
Today, the company is situated at WCEGA Plaza in Bukit Batok, with seven workshop units and over 80 employees.
“I’ve always had this ambition to list my company in 10 years, and it is exciting to see how the seed I planted then has grown today. It gives me a lot of fulfilment,” Shen said.
“But success is not just about my own achievements as a business owner.
“It’s about how I can provide for my employees and their families, and making sure that the business continues to be sustainable even when I’m no longer with the company.” THE STRAITS TIMES
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