By Kane Wu and Yantoultra Ngui
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Acclime, a Hong Kong-based advisory and corporate services firm, has selected a handful of bidders to submit binding offers for the company, in a deal that could value the firm at more than $900 million, three people with knowledge of the transaction said.
KEY DETAILS
* Global buyout firms including KKR & Co, TPG and WarburgPincus are into the second round of the Acclime bidding process,the people said. The three firms declined to comment. * The bidders are valuing the firm at high teens to 20 timesits core earnings, said one of the people, adding that Acclimecould reach a valuation of close to $1 billion. * Acclime has hired Deutsche Bank to run the sale process,and wants to wrap the deal by end-2025, the people said. Acclimedid not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.Deutsche Bank declined to comment. The people could not be namedas the information was confidential.
CONTEXT
* Acclime was founded in 2019 by Martin Crawford and DebbyDavidson to help corporations navigate Asia’s complex markets,its website shows. * Investment manager Barings provided senior secured creditfacilities totalling more than $150 million in May 2024 tosupport Acclime’s continued expansion, the firm announced at thetime. * Acclime operates across the Asia-Pacific and has officesin Mauritius, Seychelles, UAE, and Samoa, according to itswebsite.
(Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
