Global consultancy firm Bain & Company has announced its move to acquire Rainmaking APAC, the Asia-Pacific arm of venture-building and startup development studio Rainmaking, for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition, expected to close at the end of July 2023, subject to several conditions, will help Bain expand its business-building offering dubbed Next, which comprises over 200 entrepreneurs, strategists, designers, data scientists, and engineers.
Asia, especially Singapore, is a thriving innovation hub that has continued to attract talent and multinational companies to set up new businesses, said Satish Shankar, Bain’s Asia Pacific regional managing partner.
“Our Next offering has delivered strong results in innovation and business-building for our clients, and our acquisition of Rainmaking APAC marks the next critical step in scaling our Innovation & Design capabilities to create market-leading results for clients,” Shankar added.
Rainmaking APAC’s team of 50 entrepreneurial talents, based in key markets including Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, is set to be absorbed by Bain following the deal, according to the announcement.
Over the past decade, Rainmaking said it has built at least 80 new businesses and invested in more than 1,000 startups. Its Asia Pacific Singapore-based headquarters, established in 2017, is said to be one of the largest and most established independent and entrepreneurial-first venture studios in the region.
To date, the companies Rainmaking APAC has built and scaled have generated over S$880 million in funding and hold a combined equity value of more than S$9 billion.
“We work across the startup lifecycle and are proud to have built the complementary capability to both build new companies and to take growth-stage companies to scale,” said Samuel Hall, CEO of Rainmaking APAC.
Bain and Rainmaking APAC are part of the Corporate Venture Launchpad 2.0 programme, a S$20-million initiative by the Singapore Economic Development Board.
Rainmaking is also a partner of Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance, which helps startups and tech SMEs in the city-state penetrate international markets.
Bain & Company, founded in 1973, is a global consultancy that operates across 65 cities in 40 countries. It commits to invest more than $1 billion in pro bono services over 10 years.