Portfolio company
Unza |  |
|---|
Company website | www.unza.com |
Business sector | Consumer |
Country of operation | Malaysia |
Market | South East Asia |
Investment status | Realised portfolio |
Investment type | Buyout capital |
Date of original investment | 2004 |
Date of exit | 2007 |
Exit method | Trade sale |
Office | Singapore |
Background
Unza is
Affected by the Asian crisis, Unza's majority shareholder, Berjaya was looking for an exit from the business to generate cash. At the same time, the management was keen to do a buy-out to help the company grow to its full potential.
In 2004, Actis backed the US$100 million management buyout which was, at the time, the largest MBO ever undertaken in
Actis's added-value
Actis worked alongside the management team to regionalise the business from its core Malaysian base. Actis bought out the minority investor in Unza’s fast-growing Vietnamese subsidiary, turned around Unza’s Chinese operations, acquired an Indonesian competitor and re-invested to build two new factories.
In 2007, Actis exited its investment in Unza following the acquisition by Wipro, a blue-chip Indian company seeking to expand its successful personal care products business eastwards into South East Asia and
Actis invested in a Malaysia-centric business with offshoots in