Established SME: Advanced Manufacturing Company

Profile: 20-year chemical manufacturer | RM 32M annual revenue | Seeking RM 10M for automation & expansion

Challenge: A well-established, profitable business with two decades of operational track record, the company needed capital to invest in factory automation and regional expansion. Despite consistent profitability and strong fundamentals, the owner-operator had never raised institutional capital. Their financials were structured for tax efficiency rather than investor presentation, the corporate structure lacked transparency, and management had no experience articulating an investment case to sophisticated capital providers. Traditional bank financing offered insufficient tenure and restrictive covenants for their capital-intensive automation plans.

Outcome

Successfully structured and closed RM 18M in blended financing—exceeding the initial RM 10M target by 80%:

• RM10M government funding at 3.5% p.a. interest (significantly below market rates)

• RM8M from a family office in a minority equity partnership

This optimal capital structure provided the company with:

• Lower cost of capital through government facility at 3.5% vs. commercial rates of 7-9%

• Strategic equity partner bringing regional market access and industry expertise

• Founder control preserved through minority equity structure

• Extended repayment terms suitable for long-term automation investments

The capital deployment funded comprehensive factory automation and initial regional expansion, positioning the company for accelerated growth with significantly improved margins and competitive positioning in the ASEAN chemical manufacturing sector.

Our CFO-Led Approach:

Investment Readiness Assessment: Conducted comprehensive financial and structural due diligence, identifying governance gaps, documentation deficiencies, and reporting inconsistencies that would surface during investor due diligence and disqualify them from government funding programs.

Financial Transformation: Restructured management accounts to Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS), built a detailed capital expenditure model demonstrating automation ROI and payback periods, and prepared normalized EBITDA analysis that reflected true economic performance rather than tax-optimized figures.

Blended Financing Strategy: Rather than pursuing a single capital source, we developed a sophisticated financing structure combining low-cost government facilities with strategic private capital—maximizing capital efficiency while preserving founder equity and control.

Corporate Structuring: Advised on pre-investment group restructuring to rationalize shareholding, establish proper governance frameworks, and ensure eligibility for government industrial financing programs.

Multi-Track Capital Execution:

• Government Funding: Prepared comprehensive applications for industrial automation grants and low-interest financing schemes, including detailed technical specifications, projected economic impact, and compliance documentation

• Private Capital: Created an investor-grade Information Memorandum with defensible valuation methodology, clear use-of-funds allocation, and compelling growth narrative for family offices seeking Malaysian industrial exposure

Targeted Investor Engagement: Leveraged our network to facilitate introductions with industrial-focused family offices while simultaneously coordinating government funding applications through relevant agencies.