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Tag: Abraaj Group

  • Ninja Van gets $30m capital boost

    Ninja Van gets $30m capital boost

    Dubai-based Abraaj Group has led a US$30-million Series B round of fundraising for Singapore’s Ninja Logistics (Ninja Van), a technology-enabled last-mile logistics provider with a presence in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and just lately Vietnam.

    Ninja Van plans to use the fresh capital to roll out in the Philippines and Thailand this year, and to also upgrade its systems and triple its customer service headcount.

    Others in the funding round were existing investor Monk’s Hill Ventures joined by B Capital Group and YJ Capital. In its Series A in March last year, the startup raised US$2.5 million. This latest transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to wrap by the end of the month, according to Abraaj.

    Ninja Van uses algorithms to solve complex logistics issues and optimise delivery routes. It also forges partnerships with complementary transport fleets through a capacity-sharing model.

    While starting out as a logistics provider for eCommerce businesses, Ninja Van now supports more than 3000 clients across a range of industries, delivering about 15,000 parcels a day.

    “This vote of confidence from Abraaj and our other new investors will allow us to expand beyond tier-one cities in Southeast Asia,” says Ninja Van cofounder/CEO Lai Chang Wen.

    Abraaj is an investment firm specialising in private-equity investments in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. This is its 28th investment into Southeast Asia.

  • Investors eye Jaya Grocer Malaysia

    Investors eye Jaya Grocer Malaysia

    Jaya Grocer Malaysia is attracting the interest of private equity firms wanting to buy a shareholding of up to 49 per cent.

    Creador, TPG Growth and a Japanese fund based in Singapore have been shortlisted in a deal said to value the supermarket chain at about RM175 million (US$43.8 million), reports The Star. It quotes sources as saying the exercise for the sale of an equity stake began last year.

    Other firms initially interested in a shareholding included the Abraaj Group and Navis Capital Partners.

    Jaya Grocer is owned by Trendcell, with its 16 outlets posting RM18 million in earnings last year. The chain opened its first outlet in Petaling Jaya in 2007, and now has outlets in such malls as the Empire Shopping Gallery, KLIA2 and The Intermark.

    Jaya Grocer was founded by the Teng family, which also founded Giant Hypermarket and Teng MiniMarket Centre (TMC) in Bangsar. The family sold the Giant chain to Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm group in 1999 for an undisclosed amount. Meanwhile, TMC has been wholly owned and run by GCH Retail (Malaysia) since 1980. Also run by the Teng family is Pasaraya Hero, launched in 2010.

    It is unclear if the current sale process, being run through an open-bid system by Deloitte, includes these supermarkets.

    Meanwhile, Navis has invested in Jaya Grocer competitor Village Grocer the Big Group, which runs Ben’s Independent Grocer.