The Business Times
business-time-50
SGSME logo
SUBSCRIBERS

New wave of SME buyers mining for ‘diamonds in the rough’ in Singapore, Asean

Unlike traditional private equity firms, these niche players have an appetite for micro to small buyouts and longer-term holds

Summarise
google-preferred-sourceAdd BT as a preferred source
Paige Lim

Paige Lim

Published Wed, Apr 30, 2025 · 05:00 AM
    • Gen Capital Partners' co-founders Eric Koh (left) and Zachary Lee. The company aims to partner “operators” – individual would-be entrepreneurs – to buy out profitable regional businesses whose owners are looking to retire or exit.
    • Gen Capital Partners' co-founders Eric Koh (left) and Zachary Lee. The company aims to partner “operators” – individual would-be entrepreneurs – to buy out profitable regional businesses whose owners are looking to retire or exit. PHOTO: TAY CHU YI, BT

    DeeperDive is a beta AI feature. Refer to full articles for the facts.

    [SINGAPORE] New types of buyers are emerging for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Unlike traditional private equity (PE) firms, these niche players are open to smaller deals and have longer, flexible investment horizons to find and polish these hidden, diamonds in the rough.

    SMEs tend to be overlooked in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) space. Middle-market PE firms typically pursue deals between US$50 million and US$500 million, while large-cap firms’ deals can exceed US$5 billion.

    PE firms also strive to exit investments within three to seven years to realise their returns.

    Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.

    Singapore SMEsM&APrivate equitysuccession planning

    Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.

    Reuse this contentFeedback

    TRENDING NOW

    In this economy, the smartest bets might no longer be sitting an ocean away, but are waiting right here at home.

    ‘Boring’ is the new black: The stars are aligning for a Singapore stock market revival

    Sales have rebounded in March after the year-end lull and seasonal Chinese New Year pullback.

    Near sell-out launches in March boost developer sales to 1,300 units after four slow months

    US President Donald Trump (left) with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Busan last October.

    China pips the US if Asean is forced to choose, but analysts warn against reading it like a sports result

    Lim's pay package includes about S$3.6 million as salary and around S$3.9 million as bonus, indicates the company's annual report.

    Genting Singapore’s Lim Kok Thay receives S$7.5 million pay package for FY2025

    Latest T-bills Treasury Bills Results & Interest NewsLatest SSB Singapore Savings Bonds NewsLatest COE Certificate of Entitlement News
    Latest Johor-Singapore SEZ NewsLatest BTO Build To Order & Sales of Balance NewsLatest STI Straits Times Index NewsLatest SGX Dividends, Share Price NewsLatest Bonds Market NewsLatest Singapore Stocks To Buy NewsLatest Singapore Economy News
    View More