Belt Road Capital picks 40% stake in Cambodia’s Sabay Digital

Photo: Michał Kubalczyk/unsplash

By Juliet Shwe Gaung

August 9, 2018

Greater Mekong-focused private equity firm Belt Road Capital Management (BRCM) has acquired 40 per cent stake in digital publishing and entertainment group Sabay Digital Corporation (Sabay) from Cambodia.

BRCM has joined as a strategic investor in Sabay at a time when the company is looking at accelerating its current projects and strengthening its market entry strategy in new areas, said Sabay CEO Chy Sila, in a statement.

The investment into Sabay falls under BRCM’s general ticket size of $3 to $6 million.

Established in 2007, Sabay is the publisher of online entertainment and content including desktop and mobile games for the Cambodian market.

Sabay, which means happiness, is looking at driving innovation in a number of areas including online and mobile gaming, movies, infrastructure, content platforms (news, movies, music and TV) and others.

The proceeds from the investment will be used to further enhance the internal game development through Sabay Osja gaming studio, as well as in building out a Cambodia-focused e-Sports ecosystem, the release stated.

The funding will also aid development of more international gaming titles.

The investment marks the fourth transaction for BRCM from its debut $50-million fund established in late 2017. The PE firm looks to invest in nearly 10 companies out of its fund.

Prior to Sabay, BRCM has invested in southeast Asia-focused property portal Digital Classified Group, Myanmar-based Oway Group and Singapore and Hong Kong-based virtual network provider Unnitel.

In Cambodia, Sabay News is one of the most visited Khmer websites with 20 million page views and almost 2 million unique visitors.

Last year, Smart Axiata, a mobile operator in Cambodia, made a $1.5 million investment in the digital media business of Sabay for an exchange of 30 per cent stake.

Also Read:

Greater Mekong-focused Belt Road Capital to deploy $50m debut fund in 10 deals

Greater Mekong-focused BRCM invests $4m in Cambodian mobile startup Unnitel

Myanmar’s Oway raises $14.7m from IFC, Daiwa, others

 

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In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
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