Multinational food-beverage manufacturer Food Empire secured $40 M from Ikhlas Capital

Private equity firm Ikhlas Capital Singapore Pte. Ltd. has provided $40 million to Food Empire Holdings, a multinational food and beverage manufacturing and distribution company with headquarters in Singapore.

In a statement released on Monday, Food Empire said that it had signed a non-binding term sheet with Ikhlas Capital to establish a strategic partnership and to propose issuing a redeemable exchangeable note (REN) to Ikhlas Capital worth up to $40 million.

The money will go toward funding a fully owned special purpose vehicle (SPV) by the company, which will be used to hold or have the option to hold a portfolio of business operations, including the company’s operations in South and Southeast Asia.

The statement explains that the group’s goal with the strategic partnership is to collaborate with Ikhlas Capital in order to grow and expand its business in South and Southeast Asia.

Ikhlas Capital will provide an initial investment of $40 million for this strategic partnership, which will be a 5-year REN and a 5.5 percent annual interest based on terms and structured to be finalized in a definitive agreement. The SPV will hold or have the option to hold a portfolio of business operations, including the company’s Southeast Asian and South Asian business.

In these areas, the proceeds will be used to finance mergers and acquisitions as well as capital expenditures.

The company’s new shares, which will be priced at S$1.09 ($0.81) per share and listed on the Singapore exchange, will be exchangeable for REN at the option of Ikhlas Capital.

Beyond the financial infusion, Food Empire thinks that Ikhlas Capital’s local presence, expertise, and network in Southeast Asia will help the Group further accelerate growth and scale both domestically and globally.

Food Empire, a Singapore-listed company, offers snack foods, instant beverages, and is expanding into the food ingredient market.

More than 60 countries in North Asia, the Middle East, South-East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe as well as North America sell its goods.

The company has 23 offices worldwide and eight production facilities spread across five nations.

It provides a variety of branded drinks and snacks, such as chocolate drinks, fruit-flavored teas, bubble tea, instant cereal blends, crispy potato snacks, and traditional and flavor-infused coffee mixes and cappuccinos.