Exit of the Year – Small Cap
(Equity commitment on entry – below USD 50m)

APT Medical (Firstred Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, Shanghai Linghao Investment Management)

Mindray Technology Holdings’ acquisition of fellow Chinese medical devices supplier APT Medical in April 2024 facilitated full cash exits for Firstred Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Shanghai Linghao Investment Management. Mindray became the largest shareholder by picking up a 21.12% stake in APT – which listed on Shanghai’s Star Market in 2021 – at a CNY 31.49bn (USD 4.4bn) valuation. Qiming and Firstred received CNY 6.2bn and CNY 440.5m, respectively. Qiming, the second-largest shareholder after the founder, first backed APT in 2014 at a valuation of CNY 800m. It re-upped in several later rounds. Its return on the investment is 16.8x.

Burger King Taiwan (Nexus Point Capital)

Nexus Point Capital exited Burger King Taiwan in May 2024 to Ensure Global, a locally listed entity controlled by Taiwan Steel Group. The stated transaction value was up to NTD 1.4bn (USD 43.9m). Nexus Point acquired Burger King Taiwan in 2017, entering into a 20-year master franchise agreement covering the territory. It strengthened management, adjusted store opening protocols and store formats, differentiated menus, embarked on a digital revamp – ranging from an IT systems upgrade to rolling out mobile ordering – and localised the supply chain. This led to a 5x expansion in store count and growth in top-line revenue and EBITDA.

Dairy Day Classic Ice Creams (Motilal Oswal Alternatives)

Motilal Oswal Alternates made a full exit from India’s Dairy Classic Ice Creams when Kedaara Capital acquired a majority stake in the business at an enterprise value of USD 210m. The investor paid INR 1.1bn (USD 13m) for a 38.9% interest in Dairy Classic – owner of the Dairy Day brand – in 2016. It helped the company revise its brand strategy, realise cost savings in procurement and logistics, and deliver efficiencies by implementing technology solutions. Despite losing two years to COVID-19, revenue grew more than 4x during the holding period. Motilal Oswal generated a 5.5x money multiple and a 25.6% IRR.

Moritex Corporation (Trustar Capital)

Trustar Capital exited Moritex Corporation, a Japan-based producer of machine vision lenses, through a USD 275m sale to NASDAQ-listed Cognex in October 2023. It capped a nine-year holding period – which included navigating US-China trade tensions and COVID-19 – with a 21.4x return and a 41.9% IRR. Following a carve-out from Germany-headquartered Schott, Trustar estructured Moritex’s underperforming international business, more than doubling the share of overseas sales. In addition, manufacturing shifted from Japan to China and then to Vietnam, while a semiconductor and flat panel display-heavy product offering was reoriented to emphasize high-growth areas like smart factories, LiDAR, and electric vehicle batteries.

Newbook (Potentia Capital)

Potentia Capital exited its majority stake in Australia-based software specialist Newbook to US strategic Storable in May 2024 at an enterprise value of more than AUD 250m (USD 160m). It secured a 6.5x return and an 83% IRR. Newbook provides property management systems and booking engines to the travel and accommodation industry. Following its investment in March 2021, Potentia helped improve management, enhance sales capabilities, expand revenue yield, and grow internationally. Partly through localisation, the US became a key market as the international contribution to sales rose from 25% to 50%. Revenue tripled to AUD 30m during the ownership period.