Malaysian Dairy Firm The Holstein Milk Company to receive investment from Dymon Asia

4/9/2018 – Singapore-based Dymon Asia Private Equity (DAPE) has made an investment in The Holstein Milk Company (THMC) Sdn Bhd, which owns Malaysian dairy brand Farm Fresh.

The investment was conducted through the holding companies of THMC, which are Rainforest Capital Sdn Bhd and Farmchoice Foods Sdn Bhd.

According to THMC, DAPE’s investment capital will largely be used to expand its capacity, launching new products, and strengthening its foothold in Australia.

“The investment will help fund our next phase of growth and help us achieve our vision of bringing nutritious dairy products to Malaysia, Singapore, and beyond,” said Loi Tuan Ee, the Managing Director of THMC.

Founded in 2007 by Lui Tuan Ee, Khazanah Nasional-backed THMC is the first to offer fresh, preservative-free cow’s milk amidst the market of reconstituted and powdered milk.

It started its initial operations in dairy goat farming but later expanded its operations into dairy cow farming by importing 60 Holstein Jersey cows from Australia and rearing them on a small plot of land in Johor.

Fast forward today, more than 10 years later, THMC has over 5,000 cows in both Malaysia and Australia.

Aside from managing dairy farms, THMC also produces fresh and flavored milk and yogurt under the Farm Fresh and Yarra brands at supermarkets and hypermarkets across Malaysia and Singapore.

Commenting on the deal, Tan Chow Yin, the Partner at Dymon Asia Private Equity said, “Farm Fresh is a brand that Malaysians and increasingly Singaporeans too, have grown to know and love over the years, and is a market leader in fresh dairy milk in Malaysia.”

“We have watched the brand grow from a few SKUs to more than 50 today,” Tan said, adding that they also hope to assist The Holstein Milk Company in growing beyond Malaysia.

DAPE recently closed its heavily-subscribed US$450 million Southeast Asian funds in May. The fund targets small to medium-sized companies earning US$5 million to US$30 million a year.

In the same month, DAPE announced that it was partnering SGX-listed TEE International to acquire Sembcorp Environment for US$14.9 million, its first transaction from the fund.