Asia Partners looks for rhinos, not unicorns, says managing partner Nick Nash

Nick Nash, co-founder and managing partner of Asia Partners, said that his Southeast Asia-focused private equity firm doesn’t look for unicorns. It seeks “rhinoceroses” instead.

Asia Partners co-founder and managing partner Nick Nash / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

That’s how the former Sea Group president calls the humble, quiet, and underappreciated companies that its relatively new venture aims to invest in. “It’s got a horn, but it is worth US$1 billion in a P/E [price-to-earnings] multiple, not on a revenue multiple,” he said during an interview with CNBC.

Nash also noted that Sea was one such companies. It went under the radar for a number of years but reached profitability with just US$17 million dollars of burn, he said. From that point forward, Sea invested more and more in its gaming business.

Asia Partners was launched in June, aiming to address the lack of series B and C funding for tech startups in Asia. The company also previously said that it intends to pour between US$20 million and US$100 million in such startups to capitalize on Southeast Asia’s long-term growth potential.

According to the most recent e-Conomy SEA 2019 report, Southeast Asia has remained a bright spot for funding amid a slowdown in global economic growth. During the first six months of the year, internet firms raised a total of US$7.6 billion, up around 7% from the year-ago period.

Asia Partners’ first investment came in August, where it led a US$70 million first close for the series C round of online budget hotel startup RedDoorz. Nash said that Asia Partners is drawn to companies, like RedDoorz, that have a low burn rate and “will clearly get to net income in a fairly short period of time.”

Nash revealed in the interview that Asia Partners will soon be investing in an undisclosed startup, which is planning to be EBITDA-positive in 2020.