MALAYSIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Munir Abdul Aziz, Ee Von Teo and Addy Herg, Wong & Partners
Wong & Partners Level 21 The Gardens South Tower Mid Valley City Lingkaran Syed Putra Kuala Lumpur 59200 Malaysia
Tel: +603 2298 7888 Fax: +603 2282 2669 Email: kl.info@wongpartners.com Web: www.wongpartners.com
1. Transaction Activity 1.1 Private Equity Transactions and M&A Deals in General Malaysia’s diverse economy, robust policy frame - work, status as a significant commodity exporter and recently improved political stability have provided a strong foundation for a promising and steady eco - nomic recovery. This is partly reflected in a resilient M&A and private equity deal environment. The total committed funds under management in Malaysia’s private equity and venture capital industry stood at MYR24.7 billion at the end of 2024, a near 300% growth in assets over the past decade. Private equity funds that are active in Malaysia gener - ally adopt the following strategies. • Focus on sectors that have the most exposure to growth trends in the broader economy, particularly the consumer retail industry. Consumer spending accounts for a material percentage of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) and is forecast to continue to grow as a result of the government’s aim to increase labour’s share of GDP to 45% under its overarching economic plan known as the Madani Economy framework. A recent example of this trend was the MYR250 million investment, by a consortium comprising KV Asia Capital, a South-East Asia-focused private equity firm, the Malaysian public pension fund KWAP and the Indonesian consumer-focused holding company Kapal Api Group, into ZUS Coffee. Another sector
that has been favoured by private equity investors in Malaysia is the private healthcare industry, which has seen rapid growth in recent years. A number of significant transactions have taken place in the healthcare sector involving private equity acquirers or sellers including the sale of Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare by Sime Darby Berhad and Ramsay Healthcare to private equity-backed Columbia Asia Healthcare in 2024, and the more recent divest - ment by Affinity Equity Partners of its majority stake in Island Hospital together with fellow share - holders for MYR3.92 billion. • Focus on opportunities to acquire controlling stakes in family-owned companies that are under - going generational transition or that seek opportu - nities to create new growth platforms that would be more effectively pursued in partnership with private equity. A recent significant example is Affinity Equity Partners’ acquisition of a majority stake in Malaysia-headquartered leading frozen food pro - ducer Golden Fresh, a company with operations in Malaysia, Europe and Australia, following 60 years of family stewardship of the business. • Focus on opportunities to unlock hidden value in listed and privately held conglomerates. Malaysia has historically had many conglomerates, both publicly and privately held. Almost all conglomer - ates in Malaysia are either family owned or are sub - stantially held by Government Linked Investment Corporations (GLICs) such as Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the Employees Provident Fund Board (the national pension fund board), Permodalan Nasional Berhad (the nation’s largest fund manager), KWAP
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