Malaysian private equity firm Creador has made a complete exit from home improvement retailer MR D.I.Y, it said in a statement on Friday.
Creador has successfully exited its remaining 4.92% equity interest in MR D.I.Y through a private placement of 464 million shares, raising a total of 664 million Malaysian ringgit ($150.5 million) at a price of 1.43 ringgit per share. The price represents a 6.5% discount to the last close price of 1.53 ringgit.
As part of the sale, institutional investors acquired 360 million shares while the remaining 105 million shares were taken up by MR D.I.Y and Creador management teams “as a testament to their confidence in business,” the statement said. The institutional investor pool included more than 20 domestic and foreign long-only funds and sovereign wealth funds.
Creador said it had to exit the investment as the end of its fund life was approaching in August, according to the statement. Creador invested over 500 million ringgit ($120 million) in the company in 2016 in lieu of an 18% stake.
“We are pleased to have been a part of MR D.I.Y’s growth journey,” Brahmal Vasudevan, founder and CEO of Creador, said. “We have tremendous respect for the management team’s dedication and vision, and we are confident that MR D.I.Y will continue to grow and thrive. We believe this final exit will eliminate any remaining overhang on the stock price and allow it to potentially increase to its fair value.”
Credit Suisse, Maybank, CLSA and RHB acted as the placement agents for the exit transaction.
Since the retailer went public in 2020, its store network has grown significantly from 593 stores at the start of 2020. Its revenue has also grown from 2.6 billion ringgit in 2020.
MR D.I.Y Group reported revenue of 4 billion ringgit for the financial year ending December 2022, an 18.2% increase year-on-year (YoY) compared with the corresponding period a year earlier. The group’s profits were 472.9 million ringgit last year.
MR D.I.Y, whose group includes brands such as MR D.I.Y, MR TOY, and MR DOLLAR, currently has more than 1,000 stores across the region. It has planned to add 180 stores in 2023 as part of the effort to drive rapid business expansion with its low price point and diverse operations.
On Friday, shares of MR D.I.Y closed at 1.55 ringgit apiece, up 1.31% compared with the previous close a day earlier.