Bain Capital Private Equity-led consortium acquires Trans Maldivian Airways

HONG KONG, December 18, 2017 – Bain Capital Private Equity ("Bain Capital") today announced that it has formed a consortium to acquire Trans Maldivian Airways ("TMA"), the world’s largest seaplane operator headquartered in the Maldives, from a private equity firm. The Bain Capital-led consortium includes Shenzhen Tempus Global Business Services Holdings Ltd ("Tempus Global") (300178) and TBRJ Fund 1 L.P. Bain Capital, which is headquartered in the US, will own approximately 80% of TMA.

Founded in 1989, TMA is a leading seaplane operator carrying approximately 400,000 passengers annually from Velana International Airport in the Maldives’ capital of Malé, to luxury resorts on islands through out the country. It provides an exclusive, high-end travelling experience for passengers, and services more than 60 resorts. TMA’s services include resort transfers, photo flights, private charters, excursions and medical evacuation flights. With an operation of 49 seaplanes, it conducts around 50,000 round trip flights per year.

Maldives is one of the top island tourism destinations in the world. It’s unique ‘one island one resort’ model and unsurpassed natural beauty attracted ~1.3 million tourists last year, which has grown steadily over the last many years. To support continued growth in tourism, the Maldivian government is investing in infrastructure including a significant expansion of the existing airport that is expected to be completed in 2018.

Jonathan Zhu, a managing director at Bain Capital Private Equity, said "TMA is well-positioned to capture the growing tourism demand in the Maldives. Leveraging Bain Capital Private Equity’s successful track record in the leisure industry, we look forward to working with the current management team, employees and customers of TMA to continue to grow and support the industry."

Since 1984, Bain Capital Private Equity has made approximately 300 investments that have generated industry-leading returns and has extensive experience in the leisure industry, having invested in companies including Ooedo Onsen and Virgin Cruise.

"We are very excited about the partnership with Bain Capital and Tempus Global. TMA will benefit from their global expertise in travel and deep reach and connect with Chinese tourists" said A.U.M Fawzy, the CEO of TMA.

One of the founders of the original TMA business and Vice-Chairman of MATI (Maldives Association of Tourism Industry), Mr. Hussain Afeef added, "TMA plays a very important role in tourism in the Maldives and we are delighted to have Bain Capital and Tempus Global as the new owners of the business. The other co-founders of TMA and I look forward to working with them and taking TMA to new heights".

Jacky Huang, Chairman at TBRJ Asset Management, said "With Chinese tourists accounting for one of the single largest contributors to the Maldives’ tourism industry, we are committed to helping TMA develop as the quintessential part of the Maldives travel experience for Chinese and international travellers. This investment is also in line with our globalisation strategy in the context of China’s One-Belt-One-Road initiative."

 

About Bain Capital Private Equity

Bain Capital Private Equity (www.baincapitalprivateequity.com) has partnered closely with management teams to provide the strategic resources that build great companies and help them thrive since its founding in 1984. Bain Capital Private Equity’s global team of approximately 220 investment professionals creates value for its portfolio companies through its global platform and depth of expertise in key vertical industries including healthcare, consumer/retail, financial and business services, industrials, and technology, media and telecommunications. Bain Capital has offices in Boston, Chicago, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Dublin, London, Munich, Melbourne, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo and has made investments in more than 300 companies to date. In addition to private equity, Bain Capital invests across asset classes including credit, public equity and venture capital, managing approximately USD 85 billion in total and leveraging the firm’s shared platform to capture opportunities in strategic areas of focus.

About Tempus Global

Tempus Global, a member of this consortium, is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2011. Its business mainly covers four areas including air tickets, tourism, travel management and internet finance. Through deep participation and vertical layout in the value chain of the tourism industry, Tempus Global provides tourism products, information services, integrated finance and other diversified business services solution to both upstream and downstream clients. It also offers comprehensive travel products and services to individual end customers. Through a “tourism x internet x finance” strategy, Tempus Global strives to reinforce the development of the tourism ecosystem.

About TBRJ

TBRJ Fund 1 L.P. which is managed by TBRJ Asset Management Limited, a joint venture fund management company founded by Tempus Holdings Limited (a subsidiary company of Tempus Group) and RJ Capital Group.As a general partner, TBRJ jointly initiated the establishment of the China consumer fund, focusing on the theme of Chinese consumer upgrade.