Bain & Company yesterday announced that it intends to acquire the Asia Pacific arm of global venture-building and start-up development studio, Rainmaking, to help companies across the region better innovate, launch, and scale new businesses. The acquisition is subject to, and contingent upon, several conditions precedent to completion and is expected to close at the end of July 2023.
Through its proposed acquisition of Rainmaking APAC, which comprises 50 entrepreneurial talents across key markets in Singapore, Japan and South Korea, Bain intends to accelerate and expand its business-building offering, Next℠, which is delivered by more than 200 entrepreneurs, strategists, designers, data scientists and engineers in Asia Pacific.
“The region, 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.
“Building new engines of growth will continue to be a top priority for our clients. 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 (I&D) capabilities to create market-leading results for clients.”
Both Bain and Rainmaking APAC were appointed to participate in the Corporate Venture Launchpad 2.0 program, a SGD 20 million initiative launched by the Singapore Economic Development Board. Rainmaking is also a partner of Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance to help more Singapore-based start-ups and tech SMEs access market opportunities in international markets.
“Our vision is to be the leading venture-building studio in Asia Pacific,” said Florian Hoppe, Asia Pacific leader in Vector℠, Bain’s digital delivery platform. “By joining forces with Rainmaking APAC, we can help clients validate, build, and scale new businesses during a time when companies are forced to innovate, especially as we see disruptions through emerging technologies.”
“Over a number of years, we have built one of the leading venture studios in Asia Pacific. We work across the start-up lifecycle and are proud to have built the complementary capability to both build new companies and to take growth-stage companies to scale. Our distinct entrepreneurial culture and pioneering approach to equity co-investment and risk-sharing with our corporate partners have allowed us to stand out in the market,” said Samuel Hall, CEO of Rainmaking APAC.
“We are very excited to now continue our growth trajectory with Bain, who will supercharge our corporate connectivity and investment capability. With Bain as our backer, we will now be able to launch more studios and ventures; benefit from a greater volume of deeper partnerships with corporations and industry leaders; and drive significantly greater opportunity and upside for the people that work with us, build with us, and launch new ventures with us.”
Rainmaking APAC builds new start-up companies that leverage the advantages and scale strengths of corporate partners and co-founders. It has built and scaled ventures across many industries, including agriculture, energy, natural resources & cleantech, engineering, real estate & commercial property, retail, and financial services.
Following completion of the deal, Rainmaking APAC will retain its brand and existing operating structure and will continue to work with its partners while operating independently as a branded service line within Bain’s I&D ecosystem.
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