SINGAPORE (Dec 4): Private equity firm KKR is investing up to $500 million for a significant stake in V3 Group, the retailer of luxury lifestyle and wellness products in Asia founded by Ron Sim.
Headquartered in Singapore, V3 owns and develops premium products and services through its leading luxury and wellness brands including OSIM, the manufacturer of hi-tech massage chairs, luxury tea brand TWG Tea and ONI Global, the retailer of nutritional supplements.
See: Generation Tea
KKR is making this investment from its Asian Fund III. The investment gives V3 an enterprise value of $1.7 billion. The transaction was advised by Evercore, the exclusive financial adviser to V3.
Commenting on KKR’s investment, Sim, who is also V3’s CEO and chairman, says, "I am extremely pleased to welcome KKR as a significant shareholder in V3. I look forward to an exciting partnership together as well as drawing on KKR’s longstanding expertise and full support to accelerate the growth of the business. I am confident this investment will position the Company for our next phase of growth, starting with the immediate expansion of TWG Tea in Japan and the USA and of OSIM in China."
In Oct, Sim announced he was aborting plans to list V3 in Hong Kong amid intense volatility and weakness in the global stock market. OSIM was listed in Singapore in 2000 before Sim to it private in a $326.7 million buyout in 2016.
See also: Singapore tycoon Ron Sim aborts HK IPO plan on market turmoil
“First, the market must be better,” said Sim, before he would consider taking the company public again, Bloomberg reported. He intends to wait for a recovery so the company can obtain a better valuation.
