Sandhya Sriram, the CEO and founder of Shiok Meats, recently announced, through a LinkedIn post, that the company would be acquired by Umami Bioworks, another cultivated seafood startup based in Singapore. Sriram also said she would leave her post as CEO after six and a half years.
Perhaps the foremost question on readers’ minds was—didn’t Umami raise much less than Shiok? They did, indeed.
Umami raised around $2.5 million since its inception in 2020, with most of it in SAFEs, compared with Shiok Meats’s $30 million, which came from notable investors like Aqua-Spark, Y Combinator, Entrepreneur First, Henry Soesanto, Temasek-backed Big Idea Ventures, and others.
Umami was also the lesser-known startup of the two.
But with barely $3 million raised to date and now integrating Shiok Meats into the fold, Umami Bioworks will have to raise more money and do it at a time when investors are shunning all things “high-risk” and pre-revenue. According to one industry insider, Umami has less than $1 million in runway left and will need to raise capital soon.
In this news analysis, we examine the merger that comes at a challenging time for the alternative protein sector.
Let’s look at the other headlines that dominated this week.
From the LP-GP quarters
In The LP View this week, we featured Singapore-based insurer Singlife’s investment arm that is building its Asian private equity programme to achieve a more equitable representation of investments across the East and the West. Its investment programme comprises private equity, private credit, infrastructure equity, public equity and public debt.
In LP commitments, we wrote about World Bank Group member IFC considering a $100-million investment in the Asia-focused climate strategy of Swiss impact investor responsAbility Investments, which is raising $500 million for its latest climate investment vehicle.
Malaysia’s largest state pension fund, the Employees Provident Fund, has committed up to 250 million ringgit ($70.91 million) to fund mid-to-growth-stage companies in the country through a partnership with pan-Asian venture capital firm Gobi Partners.
Riyadh-headquartered global asset manager Hades Financial Private Capital Group has announced the final close of its latest secondaries-focused fund at $1.1 billion. The fund manager is also expanding its global footprint by opening a new office in Singapore.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has committed $600 million to the Asia-focused funds of CVC Capital Partners and Bain Capital.
In fundraising milestones, Singapore- and US-based venture capital firm B Capital has closed its second opportunities fund at $750 million. The size of the vehicle is nearly double that of its predecessor.
Kaya Founders, a Philippines-based early-stage venture capital investor, has raised about $18 million in the second close of its two new funds.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has reportedly offered to buy stakes in funds managed by Hong Kong-based PAG from investors at a discount. PAG is one of Asia’s largest private equity firms, managing over $55 billion in assets.
Australian venture capital investor King River Capital and video games maker Immutable have launched the $100-million Inevitable Games Fund, an ecosystem-agnostic vehicle that seeks to invest in web3 games.
Fullerton Fund Management, an affiliate of Temasek’s Seviora Holdings, has secured $100 million in anchor commitments from its parent group and Singapore’s Income Insurance for its private equity fund dedicated to decarbonisation investments in Asia’s emerging markets.
Malaysia-based private equity firm Bintang Capital Partners, which is looking to expand its investment footprint outside its home country, is open to setting up a joint venture to tap the Indonesian market.
The bottom line
Indonesia-listed tech giant GoTo’s losses widened by 124% during the financial year ended 2023, although it managed to hit a positive adjusted EBITDA for the first time in Q4 2023.
The company said the losses were mainly driven by goodwill reversal as required by prevailing accounting standards following the Tokopedia-TikTok merger. Achieving positive adjusted EBITDA in Q4 2023 means the company can rely on its cash flow and may not require large fundraising efforts, analysts said. GoTo has also received its board’s approval to conduct its first-ever share buyback programme for up to $200 million. The buyback is expected to boost GoTo’s stock performance gradually as the public’s ownership decreases.
Singapore-based brand aggregator Una Brands saw losses swell 10x even as revenue increased nearly ninefold during the financial year ended December 31, 2022, according to regulatory filings. The firm’s losses widened due to a significant rise in distribution, marketing, and administrative expenses.
Indonesian virtual multi-brand restaurant chain Dailybox Group’s losses widened 17-fold in 2022, despite posting a significant rise in revenues, as costs of goods, employee benefits, and other expenses surged.
Deal news
Indian growth-stage investor A91 Partners is looking to increase its investment in DaMENSCH, a premium men’s lifestyle brand. In 2022, DaMENSCH had raised $16.4 million in Series B funding from A91 Partners and existing investors such as Saama Capital, Matrix Partners, and Whiteboard Capital.
Singapore-based space technology startup Aliena has raised about $5.6 million in a Series A funding round anchored by early-stage venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners.
Singapore-based Staple, which uses AI to automate data processing and management, has also closed a new funding round led by Wavemaker Partners.
South Korean payment tech company PortOne, formerly known as CHAI, has raised bridge funding from founder Daniel Shin and other investors, including Korea Payment Networks, according to regulatory filings. Shin was the co-founder of collapsed stablecoin issuer Terraforma Labs.
Indonesia-listed investment firm Saratoga has increased its stake in MGM Bosco Logistik, a cold-chain logistics service provider, from 32% to 62.9%. Saratoga has now become the company’s majority owner, with the founders holding the remaining stake.
Pocket FM, an audio streaming platform, has raised $103 million in a Series D round led by Lightspeed and joined by StepStone Group. The company plans to push its entry into the US and expand into Europe and Latin America in 2024.
Vingroup has sold a 41.5% stake in its retail unit, Vincom Retail, for an undisclosed sum. After the transaction, Vingroup will hold an 18.8% stake in Vincom Retail, but the shopping mall operator will no longer be a Vingroup unit, Reuters reported, citing a filing.
Private investment firm Starwood Capital Group has agreed to acquire a 10.7% equity stake in ESR Group, the third-largest real estate manager in Asia.
CPP Investments, one of the world’s largest pension funds, has made an additional $219 million commitment to India’s National Highways Infra Trust.
Deep dives
Private equity fundraising in the Asia Pacific region encountered a stalemate in 2023. According to Deloitte’s inaugural ‘Asia Pacific Private Equity 2024 Almanac’ report, only 385 funds in the APAC region secured a final close in 2023, down 51.5% from the 795 funds that closed in the previous year.
Meanwhile, the number of family offices (FOs) in Hong Kong has reached more than 2,700 following several policy measures to lure the global wealthy and strengthen the city’s status as a financial hub. The city has also surpassed regional rival Singapore in the number of single FOs.
Despite muted investor sentiments amid macro market headwinds, fund managers in India have found a reason to cheer, with exits showing an uptick in recent times. PE and VC firms encashed $22.45 billion from 276 deals in 2023. In value terms, this is a 21.6% jump from 2022, when 233 exit deals were closed for $18.46 billion, according to Venture Intelligence data.
As China’s automotive industry undergoes drastic upheaval, private market investors are driving into newer segments, such as the convergence of deep tech and electrified cars, where they see future opportunities emerging. VCs are pivoting to technologies such as robotics, semiconductors, AI, aerospace, automotive ethernet, and anything that can help carmakers improve efficiency and widen margins.
Indonesian startup Modal Rakyat, which provides productive loans for micro, small, and medium enterprises, is the latest P2P fintech lending platform to run into rough weather. After the meltdown in Indonesia’s top platforms iGrow, Tanifund, and Investree, Modal Rakyat’s business model faces scrutiny as a retail lender has filed a lawsuit against the P2P operator.
Lastly, we had this feature on marketing technology startups across Southeast Asia that have emerged relatively unscathed from the so-called funding winter, driven by steady demand from enterprises, big and small.
