About APAC Associates
APAC Associates (APAC) is an investment consultancy firm specializing in mergers and
acquisitions (M & A), strategic investment and market entry consultancy in China since 2002 and in
South East Asia since 2000.
Investment Consultancy: A Middle Market & Regional Focus with Global Reach
We specialize in middle-market M & A in China and South East Asia, with transaction values of
US$10 million to US$50 million, serving entrepreneurs, corporate owners, and various types of
investors. Our clients include large international corporations, private equity firms and Chinese
companies.
APAC Associates is based in Shanghai and Singapore, but with truly global reach. We share
extensive and powerful links across South-East Asia by virtue of the fact that a large number of our
project partners have held senior positions across the region for many years.
Market Entry Consultancy: Focus on China & South East Asia
APAC serves companies interested in expansion through direct investments, acquisition and
strategic investments, new projects, forming joint ventures and establishing marketing channels in
China and South East Asia.
APAC can support your growth strategy in China and South East Asia by researching and
confirming market opportunities, market entry strategizing and planning, recommending and
negotiating with strategic investors and business partners for marketing channels and suppliers.
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APAC Value Add: Professionalism built on Experience
Our focus is on middle-market transactions for which we can provide
significant added value. APAC has wide-ranging experience in mergers,
acquisitions, strategic investment, divestitures and market entry
consultancy. We provide services from researching opportunities to
managing the total process, and above all, closing the transaction.
What truly sets APAC apart is the professionalism and experience that
our partners bring to our services. APAC's partners have been
successful CEOs and business leaders themselves. Our team has built a broad relationship
network, and it is from this network that we source most of our investment opportunities. Our high
numbers of repeat business and client referrals is testimony to our value added services.
The reputation of APAC is built on our commitment to addressing the needs of our clients on a
timely, professional and confidential basis. We take pride in the level of expertise, creative problem-
solving abilities and personalized assistance for which we are known.
We develop a customized plan for each client. We conduct extensive research to uncover possible
acquisition candidates that are not "officially" for sale and gain a thorough understanding of the
current dynamics of the targeted company. Upon identifying potential matches, we initiate
discussions, provide business valuation, facilitate due diligence, and work with our client to develop
a negotiating strategy and terms of an offer, and most importantly help to negotiate to close the
transaction.
Our team is experienced in all negotiation functions, from Letters of Intent through Definitive
Purchase Agreements and closing. By virtue of our extensive experience, we can effectively
anticipate and resolve the issues that confront our clients. We have considerable expertise in
creatively structuring transactions to address the objectives of all parties.
Founder and Managing Partner
Au Eng Fong is the founder and Managing Partner of APAC
Associates.
Mr. Au has been trained in one of world's top business schools -
London Business School (ranked 4th worldwide). He has extensive
experience in both public and private sectors.
He began his career serving in the Singapore government's premier
administrative service with stints in the Ministry of Finance and the
Ministry of Defense.
He operated Singapore's largest leasing company as well as one of the largest equipment leasing
companies in Malaysia. He also setup a consultancy and financing company to assist small and
medium companies to upgrade & automate their business & systems. Subsequently, Mr. Au also
setup and ran a distribution company covering the whole of South East Asia.
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As general manager of two leasing companies for more than 15 years, he has approved and
reviewed leasing and credit facilities to thousands of companies. He has first hand knowledge of
why companies fail and succeed. Why certain business models work for certain companies in
certain environments and why certain models do not. As the CEO of a listed company, Mr. Au
participated in many negotiations for large contracts, joint ventures, investments and divestments.
He has personally owned and operated hospitality outlets, distribution companies of golfing
equipment and material handling equipment covering the whole of South East Asia for more than
10 years. He has handled principals from USA, Germany, Japan, and Korea. He has of course had
to manage many dealers and retailers. He understands the business of distribution, wholesale and
retailing very well.
Now, Mr. Au is focusing on strategic investment and market entry consulting. Based on his training,
experience, observation and summary of successes and failures from the past 25 years, he has
developed an approach and model to help client to achieve sustainable growth.
Mr. Au has chosen to focus on China because of his 16 years of education in Chinese schools and
university before his MBA in London, and because of China's recent rapid development.
APAC Services:
• Investment Consultancy
o Mergers & Acquisitions
Acquiring a Company
Selling a Company
o Management Buyouts
• Market Entry Consultancy
• Starting a New Project
• Business Valuations Service
• Negotiations Service
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Acquiring a Company
APAC can support your acquisition objectives in any capacity, from locating strategic multiple
acquisition targets, through more expanded roles as facilitators, negotiators and full-service
intermediaries. Our firm is equipped to handle corporate mergers & acquisitions in China and South
East Asia, especially in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Our customized Strategic Investment Consultancy Services include a thorough process to identify
and seek the right company at the right price.
Our services for Acquisitions:
• Meet your strategic needs and objectives, by
reviewing your acquisition criteria and researching
and qualifying multiple targets, resulting in a
smoother acquisition.
• Reduce acquisition time by selecting only suitable
targets for your consideration.
• Support acquisitions at the right price, by valuing
target companies and facilitate negotiating a letter
of intent or Memorandum of Understanding.
• Assist with the acquisition closing, including
facilitating due diligence, negotiating the definitive agreement, and closing the acquisition.
Acquiring a company is a major decision. APAC's clarification process allows us to align your
objectives and strength and identify companies that will be a strategic match.
Selling a company
Selling a company can be time consuming, complex and emotionally draining. The right
intermediary firm can make all the difference. The experienced M&A professionals at APAC work
confidentially and closely with you to develop an advantageous exit plan, including:
Consulting on the rationale and timing for selling.
Conducting analysis and valuation.
Preparing an information package and presentation materials to attract the right purchasers.
Locating and screening qualified buyers, and approaching prospective buyers on a confidential
basis.
Evaluating offers.
Negotiating letters of intent, terms and structuring the transaction.
Managing the closing including coordinating with all principals, accountants, lawyers and advisors
on both sides.
The decision to sell your company should not be entered into lightly. APAC partners provide a
wealth of experience and support from the moment you begin to consider an exit plan. Throughout
the typically complex sale process, we will work closely with you and advise you to meet your
objectives while maintaining strict confidentiality
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Management Buyouts
APAC can help a management team buy out a business by providing
assistance in structuring, finding other strategic investors and financiers, and
negotiating to complete the transaction.
Market Entry Consulting
For companies planning to expand to China
& South East Asia and require careful study
and a systematic approach, APAC certainly
can help in the evaluation & strategizing
process and most importantly, in the
execution and achievement of the objective
within the agreed timeframe.
APAC serves companies interested in
expansion through direct investment,
acquisition and strategic investment, new project, forming joint venture and establish marketing
channel in China and South East Asia.
APAC can support your growth strategy in China and South East Asia from researching and
confirming market opportunity, market entry strategizing and planning, recommending and
negotiating with strategic investors and or business partners of marketing channel and suppliers.
Our professional Market Entry Consultancy services include the followings:
Market Study;
Feasibility Study;
Location selection;
Recommendation of Strategies & Channels for Expansion;
Search, Recommendation & Appointment of Distributors and Dealers;
Search & Recommendation of Suppliers & Outsourcing Parties;
Search & Recommendation of strategic investors;
Dealing with local government for project approval, land purchase and taxation status;
Coordinating with accountants, lawyers and other technical advisors.
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Starting a new project
APAC can support your growth strategy in starting a
new project when you sense a market opportunity in
many capacities, from researching and confirming
market opportunities, through more expanded roles in
business modeling and planning, financial analysis,
market entry strategizing, structuring and negotiating
with strategic investors and full-service project adviser.
This APAC service for assisting clients in starting new
project provides significant added value to mid size company in their expansion in both their home
markets, and into China and South East Asia. APAC works closely with the owner, chairman and
CEO as a full-service project adviser.
Large international firms also find this APAC customized service in starting new projects in our size
range of US$5 to 50 millions extremely valuable when they consider venturing into China and South
East Asia for the first time. They normally will engage APAC to research and confirm market
opportunities and market entry strategies. They have their own resources in business planning and
project management, but they value our strategic investment consultancy in negotiating and
bringing in strategic investors in order to improve the feasibility of the project or venture in a new
market place.
APAC Business Valuations
A reliable valuation is a critical planning component for every
sale and acquisition of a company.
The APAC Associates Business Valuation Service is unique
to our industry and truly differentiates our firm from the
competition. We focus on cross-border mid-market M&As in
China and South East Asia. This valuation service is
typically provided as part of the M&A process, but we can
also provide this business valuation as an independent service before an exclusive service
agreement on the M&A is signed between the client and APAC.
Depending on the individual requirements and different stages of the M&A process that one is in at
the time, the Business Valuation Service can range from a “Valuation Snapshot” as a cost-effective
quick answer, to a “Full Valuation”. A Full Valuation includes a complete Financial, Operational and
Managerial Review, Industry and Economic Review, and Comparable Transactions Review. A Full
Valuation forms the most important part of a comprehensive Offering Memorandum which we
normally prepare for our client.
For both the Valuation Snapshot and Full Valuation, our emphasis is on Value Drivers and
Detractors on top of quantitative analysis.
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APAC Negotiations Service
The negotiation stage comes fairly late in the M&A process. If
there is no strategic fit, there is no point in proceeding further from
the buyer’s point of view, let alone to begin negotiation. If there
are critical value detractors found in the business valuation, it is
not worth negotiating even if the price is on the cheap.
Fortunately APAC is typically in a more positive situation as we
would not want to incur valuable time in the M&A process if there
is no strategic fit or other good reason for the parties concerned,
or if the business valuation cannot support the price range.
Once the fundamentals are in place, it comes down to negotiation to get deal done on terms that
are acceptable to both parties. As many of the cases we handle do not involve a complete takeover,
it is critical that both parties are satisfied with the terms of the agreement, and have a perception of
a win-win situation. This is never easy, and more so in cross border transactions, where the parties
come from different cultural and commercial practice backgrounds.
APAC normally takes care of all the commercial terms or heads of agreement. We have the
experience necessary to understand and communicate to the parties as to why certain terms are
acceptable or why certain demands may cause the negotiation to collapse. We believe that if the
parties are still negotiating after three to six months into a cross-border M&A deal, the fundamentals
of strategic fit, good reasons, and perception of reasonable valuation must be right. When gaps
and differences arise, we can help by offering creative solutions to enable both parties to achieve
their objectives. We normally succeed. And close the deal.
APAC is extremely proud of its contribution in the negotiation process of all the cross-border cases
it has helped to close in China and South East Asia. It is certainly one of the strongest core
competencies of APAC Associates.
Our strength in negotiation derives from our Founder and Managing Partner, Mr. Fong E. Au. He
simply enjoys the process and derives tremendous satisfaction from closing a win-win transaction.
He has more than 25 years of experience in negotiations including defense procurement contracts,
funding and financing deals, leasing agreements, debt settlements, divestment, acquisition, joint
venture, double taxation agreements, dealership and franchising agreement. His knowledge, skills
and experience are acquired through actual practices as senior government officer in finance and
defense, CEO of leasing company and international trading company, entrepreneur in leasing,
distribution and hospitality business, and as investment consultant now. Besides the above
mentioned experience in the predominantly western business system of South East Asia, his
stationing in China the last 4 years, and more importantly, his 16 years of education in Chinese
schools and university before his MBA in London certainly contribute to his success in negotiations
in cross border transactions involving Chinese companies and foreign investors.
At the moment, we offer this negotiation service as part of the complete APAC M&A Investment
Consultancy Service process.
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Industry Focus & Opportunities:
Within the above mentioned main practice areas of consulting and services, we have successfully
completed assignments and are currently handling projects in the following industries:
• Logistics
• Consumer (Retail / Franchising )
• Hospitality and Leisure
• HR & Professional Services
• Automotives
• Petrol chemical
There are quite a few active investment opportunities currently listed in our web site under the
Opportunities Page. If you are interested in these projects or have other investment opportunities to
share with us, please contact us.
Contacts:
Mr. Au Eng Fong
Managing Partner, APAC Associates
fong.e.au@apacassociates.com
Mr. Tan Eng Swee
Associate, APAC Associates (Singapore)
estan@apacassociates.com
Company Web Site: www.apacassociates.com
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