Timah Partners to acquire specialised waste management business under new sector platform
It is part of Timah’s goal to consolidate and professionalise the ‘fragmented industry’
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[SINGAPORE] Timah Partners, a holding company for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has signed an agreement to acquire a specialised waste management business.
It also announced on Thursday (Jul 2) that it will launch a specialised waste management platform aimed at consolidating the fragmented industry in Singapore.
The business that is being acquired is an established operator with more than two decades of experience and has a “strong reputation in the industry”, a Timah Partners spokesperson told The Business Times.
The company operates at high margins with limited capital requirements and has been profitable every year since its founding, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the company to be acquired was not named.
The business’ founder, who has run the company since its inception and does not have a successor, will hand over stewardship to Timah Partners under the firm’s permanent ownership model.
Beyond this first acquisition, Timah Partners has already identified at least two other operators in Singapore whose founders are similarly exploring succession options, and which the company sees as strong potential additions to the platform, the spokesperson added.
Timah Partners acquires SMEs with recurring, mission-critical business models and holds them for the long term. Through its in-house Chief Executive Officer Succession Programme (CSP), the company recruits and develops future CEOs to succeed retiring founders.
According to Timah Partners’ market analysis, Singapore’s specialised waste industry generates roughly S$400 million in annual revenue.
The industry is made up of small, owner-operated businesses providing compliance-driven services such as specialised waste collection, sanitation and environmental services, drainage and grease-trap maintenance – many of which face succession challenges as founders approach retirement.
Timah Partners CEO Dennis Chua said the firm sees an opportunity to build a permanent platform for the sector, consolidating and professionalising it.
Kelvin Ho, one of Timah Partners’ CSP candidates and incoming co-CEO of the acquired business, said he looks forward to learning from the people who built the business and helping carry it into the next chapter.
The platform is guided by a senior advisory board drawn from Singapore’s public sector, built-environment, facilities-management and specialised management leadership.
Members include former senior minister of state for sustainability and the environment Amy Khor; former CEO of Ascendas Services and former senior managing director of CapitaLand Singapore Jeffrey Chua; former Building and Construction Authority CEO Kelvin Wong; and Dennis Chua, who is also the founder of Timah Partners.
A veteran operator from the specialised waste sector, who was not named in the statement, also sits on the board.
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