Turn Capital plays Moneyball

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Hello reader,

Moneyball is one of my favorite books and not to be that guy, but the written version is far better than the film – no matter how handsome you may think Brad Pitt is.

Michael Lewis’ book about the Oakland Athletics in the early 2000s explores a pretty simple concept: how to make use of assets an industry has undervalued. By acquiring players who had been undervalued by other teams, the A’s were able to exploit market inefficiencies to compete with teams that were far better resourced.

Turn Capital is hoping to do something similar by snapping up undervalued businesses in the consumer and technology sectors, such as Flash Coffee. Maybe the Turn Capital story won’t spawn a book and blockbuster movie, but it’s taking a leaf out of the Moneyball playbook all the same.

Today we look at:

• Turn Capital bets on a Flash Coffee comeback in Thailand
• The fallout from the OpenAI leadership drama rumbles on
• Other newsy highlights such as Baemin saying goodbye to Vietnam and Jack Ma launching a farm produce firm.

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Turnaround time

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Turn Capital is on the hunt for businesses whose fortunes it thinks it can reverse.

17Live co-founder Joseph Phua launched the company in 2020. The firm’s maiden fund to invest in business turnarounds recently struck its first deal, securing a buyout of Flash Coffee’s Thai unit.

• Opportunity knocking: The VC firm is on the lookout for opportunistic deals amid falling private valuations across Asia. Ho Kheng Lian, general partner at Turn Capital, says the company is seeking out companies that have been overinvested in by VCs and have plateaued, making them ripe for a comeback aided by Turn.
• Carefully planned: Turn Capital had been tracking Flash Coffee since April before its Taiwanese unit shut down, but it decided not to invest then. However, once word got out that the coffee startup’s Singapore business would be liquidated, Turn’s partners rekindled their interest. Thailand’s rising consumer middle class and Flash Coffee’s brand value in the market made it an attractive buy.
• All-star partners: Limited partners in Turn Capital include family offices, business operators, and venture capital general partners. Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin is one such partner, as is former Japanese soccer star Keisuke Honda.

Read more: Turn Capital in undervalued asset hunt after Flash Coffee buyout

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