SHANGHAI, Aug. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- YPX Cayman Holdings
Co. ("the Company" or "YPX"), a leading quick service restaurant
company headquartered in Shanghai,
announced today the closing of its series D financing round of
USD 25M. MAM PE Asia Fund I (Labuan)
LLP, a fund managed by Maybank Private Equity Sdn Bhd ("Maybank
PE"), is the lead investor in the latest financing round, with
follow-on investments from existing investors such as LionRock
Capital, Ignition Capital, as well as renowned individual investors
such as Mr. Koh Boon Hwee, former
DBS Bank and Singapore Airlines Chairman, and Mr. Peter Tan, former President of McDonalds Greater
China and ex-CEO of Burger King for Asia
Pacific. Series D financing proceeds will be utilized to
grow YPX directly-owned stores and to expand YPX's franchising
system.
Photo: http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20140822/0861406013-a
Photo: http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20140822/0861406013-b
"We are truly excited to have an investment from a fund seeded
by Malayan Banking Berhad, or
better known as Maybank. Maybank is one of South East Asia's largest banks, and the
largest in Malaysia by market
capitalisation. Named one of the Top 20 strongest banks in the
world consecutively in 2013 & 2014 (by Bloomberg Markets
Magazine July / August 2014), Maybank
through its private equity arm has a very rigorous due diligence
process, and we are honored to have passed their stringent test on
our business and management. It is a very significant event for me
and the Company to have the fund investing in us. Maybank PE brings
a wealth of experience to help us grow our business," says
Chris Tay, CEO and founder of YPX
Cayman Holdings.
Mr. Pneh Tee Keong, CEO of Maybank PE, says, "We are very pleased with this
outcome. The upside for this segment in China is enormous, given the increasing middle
class population. We are also comforted by the fact that we are
investing in a sound business, and backing an experienced
management team to help us navigate through the intricacies of
operating in this market. We are very excited to be a part of what
I believe will be a successful partnership with Chris, his team and
all the other shareholders."
With this fresh funding, YPX will be able to grow more stores
via direct-owned operations as well as franchisees across
China. The company will also
allocate some proceeds for R&D to diversify its menu offering,
brand awareness and information technology to support its future
growth. "Serving good quality, value for money food has been the
hallmark of YPX since its inception. This year, we have continued
to focus on improving our food quality and safety standards; we see
this as an ongoing pursuit that will continue to underpin all that
we do at YPX. 2014 is also our inaugural year for franchising, and
we are very committed to being a responsible franchisor. We
will set up a robust system to support and train our franchisees as
they are in all ways business people and want a good return on
their investments," says Tay.
"In the past, franchising had an undesirable reputation in
China, due to a laggard monitoring
system and a mismatch of values between franchisors and
franchisees. The industry was further tarnished by unethical
practices by franchisors who emphasized short-term gains over
creating a sustainable brand name. However things are
changing, albeit slowly, and the
market is maturing for the better; franchisees are more informed
and educated than before. We want to be the first one to stand out
as the most sought after and most responsible franchisor in
China. Needless to say, this will
not slow down our own corporate-owned stores. Not only will this
positively add to our revenue growth, it will also provide support
to our franchised stores. In addition to this, we are true
believers in the use of information technology in the
F&B industry, when often times IT takes a back seat in our kind
of business. So we will invest heavily on IT in the coming years.
The hottest potential is that China is still urbanizing rapidly and its
consumer market is going to be the largest in the world in the next
few years, if it isn't already," adds Tay.
YPX's first brand is Cloud9, a Taiwanese Fast Casual Restaurant
chain, which currently has more than 40 stores in 12 cities.
Founded in late 2010, Cloud9 was seed-funded by Qiming Venture
Partners, well known for its highly successful investment in
Xiaomi. Over the next year, YPX hopes to add two more brands, be it
from the USA or another country
that has good brand equity amongst Chinese consumers. Tay says, "We
will not add another brand for the sake of adding a brand. It has
to have the same core values as the first brand: serving a majority
of the Chinese customers with the best food at the most affordable
pricing. We have strict principles that we adhere to when
developing and nurturing a brand. We do not want to segregate any
spectrum of the customers. We want brands that can understand the
Chinese consumers' needs and always staying relevant. And it has to
be scalable at the same time. We have a solid management team and
our reputation of being professional, reliable and accountable
attracts many brands from overseas to want to work with us to
expand in China."
On the topic of food safety, Tay adds, "food safety is of
paramount concern in China. YPX
will not compromise on food safety for the sake of growth as these
two important objectives are not contradicting. We can do both. A
high moral standard and superior transparent management culture are
held in very high esteem in YPX."
Mr. Daniel Tseung, MD of LionRock
Capital, says, "We are delighted to
have a Maybank associated fund as the lead investor in the latest
Series D round and look forward to working with Maybank PE, other
YPX shareholders, and the company management team in strengthening
YPX leading position in the Quick Service Restaurant industry in
China."
Mr. Rich Tong of Ignition
Partners says, "This latest investment shows that YPX is one of the
best teams in the highly competitive food and beverage market. We
congratulate them on this great milestone."
About YPX www.ypxfood.com
Founded in Shanghai in 2010,
YPX Cayman focuses on the management of casual F&B chains in
China. CLOUD 9, the Company's
first brand, mainly focuses on the Taiwanese casual F&B and
snacks segment. The brand now has more than 40 stores across
China including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Changzhou, and Hefei. The Company's management team has a
combined F&B chain management experience of over 80 years,
having worked in brands like KFC, McDonald's, Burger King, Dicos,
Dairy Queen and Yoshinoya. The Company aims to be a leading casual
F&B platform in China.
About Maybank PE www.maybank-am.com
Maybank PE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Maybank Asset
Management Group Berhad ("MAMG"), which in turn is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Malaysian Banking Berhad (Maybank). Maybank PE
targets minority investments in the consumer and consumer related
segments across the Asian region.
Its parent, MAMG, is Maybank's asset management business unit
and offers investors a diverse range of investment solutions. MAMG
has in-depth experience in managing investments ranging from
equity, fixed income to money market instruments mainly on behalf
of and for corporations, institutions, insurance and takaful
companies and individual clients. In addition to that, MAMG also
offers unit trust and wholesale funds. It has regional footprint
and on-the-ground presence in key markets of the region -
Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
About LionRock Capital
http://www.lionrockcapitalhk.com
LionRock Capital provides strategic, financial, and corporate
governance support for growth stage companies in Greater China. It is supported by some of the
world's most successful entrepreneurs and family organizations, who
also serve as valuable resources for LionRock's investee companies
and investment partners. LionRock seeks to build active,
value-added, long-term relationships with company management teams
and investors; its Managing Directors & Senior Advisors are
internationally recognized leaders in business, investment, and
corporate governance. The firm's team of seasoned Asian
professionals has a demonstrated track record of successfully
helping management teams build & develop their businesses in
Greater China and beyond.
About Ignition Capital http://www.igncap.com
Ignition Capital is the growth equity arm of a $3 billion global fund group which
provides emerging industry leaders the investment and
operations support to help them reach their long-term
potential, in the technology, communications, consumer and
healthcare sectors. Over the last 14 years, they've been working
with a broad array of companies that have become market leaders in
technology, telecommunications, consumer services and healthcare.
They have seen their companies deal with difficult economic
situations while still growing dramatically to either become public
companies, or be sold to larger market leaders.
SOURCE YPX Cayman Holdings Co., Ltd