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Leading global private equity firm CVC Capital Partners (CVC) is investing P6 billion in Fast Group (Fast), the Philippines’ leading logistics player, to further drive Fast’s continued development and expansion across the country.
Brice Cu, Managing Director of CVC Capital Partners, revealed their infusion through CVC Capital Partners Asia IV in today’s formal Fast announcement of the partnership. CVC now owns 40 percent of the company.
“We are committed to investing P6 billion. We are pleased to end our partnership with Fast. We made the right choice, ”Cu said, noting that CVC has been working closely with Fast since 2019. He cited that within a year, the company has made excellent progress on a number of important strategic initiatives in digital transformation. , automation of its processes, and above all in the creation of a series of attractive acquisition opportunities.
In choosing Fast, Cu said there are three key things they looked for when investing in a business: equity investment, strong management team, and industry outlook. He said that all three of these boxes have been checked and that Fast is positioned for further growth and even a possible initial public offering down the road. CVC is currently speaking to a handful of companies as candidates for potential mergers and acquisitions. Fast is the third Philippine company in which CVC has invested.
William Chiongbian II, Group President and CEO of Fast Group cited CVC as a strategic and financial partner and both partners have been working smoothly.
“Fast is the market leader in the growing logistics sector in the Philippines, our customers greatly value our extensive offering that spans the entire supply chain, from logistics and warehousing to distribution and transportation,” he said.
“Investing in Fast by CVC is a testament to the attractiveness and potential of the Philippine logistics sector, the market-leading business we have built over the past four decades, and of course the economy in general. We are delighted to partner with such an experienced investor as we now seek to accelerate our growth. “
Bonifacio Doroy, director of FastGgroup, said CVC’s investment will accelerate Fast’s growth with the expansion of its current facilities, transform its processes digitally with new technology and other opportunities for mergers and acquisitions.
Despite this year’s pandemic, Doroy said Fast is expected to end the year with 12 percent growth in revenue as customers engage in unhindered pharmaceutical, food and household operations during the closures. He said Fast is definitely expected to grow even better in double digits next year as the economy opens up more. In 2019, Doroy said, Fast posted $ 400 million in sales.
Chiongbian said that as the economy opened, inventories are returning to their pre-COVID levels.
As the nation’s largest end-to-end logistics company, Fast employs more than 11,000 workers, more than 2,500 in the multi-truck transportation fleet, and more than 400 accredited subcontractors. It also has the largest footprint in terms of warehouses of 1.2 million square meters and more than 90,000 points of sale and distribution throughout the country.
To make their operations more efficient and allow them to do a better job, Ronald Dompor, Executive Vice President of FastGroup, said they are investing in a transportation technology to monitor movements, as well as extensive sales force automation that covers more than 90,000 points of sale. your sales and distribution business.
For 47 years, Fast has served businesses of all sizes, from the largest Filipino multinational companies and conglomerates to tens of thousands of sari-sari stores and neighborhood grocery stores. Today, the Group is present in transport logistics, warehouse management, sales distribution, third-party manufacturing and value-added supply chain services.
Founded by the Chiongbian family, Fast has grown steadily for more than four decades, from its roots at William Lines in the 1970s, becoming a publicly traded shipping company in the 1990s, and eventually becoming a leader. in end-to-end logistics.
The company offers supply chain solutions that meet the world-class standards and requirements of multinationals and large organizations operating in the Philippines, while at the same time nurturing its strong roots with the local communities in which the company operates.
Meanwhile, CVC is a leading global private equity company, with a long history of building businesses in Asia, having been active in the region for more than 20 years. This deep experience will be essential to accelerate Fast’s growth and increase its footprint through mergers and acquisitions, and in the digitization of its logistics operations through investments in technology.
CVC is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm. Founded in 1981, CVC today has a network of 23 offices and more than 550 employees in Europe, Asia and the United States. To date, CVC has secured commitments of more than US $ 160 billion from some of the world’s leading institutional investors in its private equity and credit strategies. In total, CVC currently manages approximately $ 109 billion of assets. Currently, the funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in more than 85 companies worldwide, employing more than 400,000 people in numerous countries. Together, these companies have combined annual sales of approximately $ 93 billion.
CVC has one of the largest and oldest pan-regional office networks of any private equity business in Asia and has been active in the region since 1999. CVC’s private equity strategy in Asia focuses on controlling and partnership investments in high-quality businesses, typically with business values between $ 250 million and $ 1.5 billion.
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