(Aug 8): Singapore-based OCBC, via OCBC Bank (Malaysia) and Lion-OCBC Capital Asia Fund I (LOCAF I), has invested about RM60 million ($19.7 million) in YYC Holdings Sdn Bhd (YYC Group), a homegrown advisory firm.
Established in 1974, YYC Group is a Malaysian accounting, advisory and business advisory firm which serves more than 20,000 clients in KL, Selangor, Penang, Johor and Singapore.
The company also provides services including cloud transformation, headhunting, payroll outsourcing and business school.
LOCAF I is a private equity fund created by OCBC’s mezzanine capital unit (MCU) and asset management subsidiary Lion Global Investors.
OCBC’s MCU global head Daniel Kwan said about RM40 million from the total RM60 million would be used as a war chest for merger and acquisition (M&A) exercise, while the rest for the acquisition of less than 20 per cent stake in YYC.
He said this at the YYC Group and OCBC partnership press conference in conjunction with YYC Group’s 45th-anniversary celebration here, today.
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Meanwhile, YYC Group CEO Datin Yap Shin Siang said as the company had tripled their revenue since 2016 and believed the partnership with the bank would pave the way for the group to go for an initial public offering (IPO) within five years.
“We are expecting strong organic growth, coupled with strategic acquisitions, to catapult the company to greater heights, both within the country and regionally,” she says, adding that YYC had acquired a company in Singapore recently, but did not divulge further details on that.
Commenting on the listing plan, YYC Group executive chairman Yap Zhi Chau said the IPO could take place in Malaysia, Hong Kong or Singapore, depending on the market conditions at that time.
“In Malaysia, Ace Market will be the easiest way to go public, and as we are a homegrown company, Bursa Malaysia will be our first choice,” he saidsays
Echoing that, Shin Siang said the existing YYC Group management team would remain as the key shareholders of the company, alongside OCBC bank as advisors.
“Despite starting off with a confined focus on small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs), we have now expanded into the realm of larger corporations, and we believe the collaboration with OCBC bank will propel us forward,” she added.
OCBC Bank (Malaysia) CEO Datuk Ong Eng Bin said the partnership would allow YYC to leverage on the bank’s existing 100,000 SME client base in the country.
