Singapore-based growth equity firm Venturi Partners has invested $25 million in the Philippines-focused discount grocery store chain DALI Stores, according to an announcement.
Venturi invested out of its $180-million debut consumer-focused fund. The investment marks the firm’s second deal in the Philippines, following its investment in grab-and-go coffee startup Pickup Coffee last year.
It joins the Philippines-based private equity firm Navegar, Malaysia-headquartered buyout company Creador, and multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB) on DALI’s cap table.
DALI, on the other hand, will join Venturi Partners’s portfolio of consumer-focused investments in India and Southeast Asia, which includes home interior and renovation company Livspace, dairy brand Country Delight, and beauty products maker Believe.
DALI Stores are based on a German supermarket model where operations are stripped to their bare necessity without fancy interiors or towering advertising costs. The stores are usually small and mainly located in inexpensive areas.
Founded in 2020, the discount grocery store chain has quickly established itself as the leading discounter in the Philippines’ retail landscape offering a core range of the 400 most needed consumer goods — food and non-food.
DALI says on its website that the Philippines, with a 110-million population, is among the highest food-spending and disposable income markets in Asia.
“We see tremendous potential for the company to expand its reach and improve the lives of even more households across the Philippines,” said Nicholas Cator, founding partner at Venturi.
The investment comes a year after DALI Stores secured Series C commitments from Manila-headquartered ADB, Creador, and Navegar.
Venturi, on the other hand, closed its debut consumer-focused fund in 2022, anchored by three cornerstone limited partners — Peugeot Invest; Ackermans & Van Haaren; and Frederic De Mevius, founder of Verlinvest and a member of the family ownership of ABI. It has also secured funds from European and Asian family offices.
Venturi invests in growth opportunities in Series B-D stages, writing cheques of $10-40 million in exchange for about 5-10% equity ownership, with a high preference for a board seat.
DALI’s funding comes as the Philippines saw only five transactions that raised a total of $40.2 million in February, according to data compiled by DealStreetAsia. That compares to the two deals in the country that raised a mere $1.8 million in January.
The deals were led by UNO Digital Bank, whose parent company UNOAsia raised $32.1 million in a pre-Series B funding round that will be used to expand the digital bank in the Philippines further.
