MyRepublic, a Singapore-based internet service provider backed by conglomerate Sinar Mas, raised S$70m ($51.8m) in series C funding from private equity firm Makara Capital today.
Makara provided the cash through Makara Innovation Fund, leading a round that MyRepublic hopes to close at $111m, up from its initial target of $74m, at an eventual valuation of approximately $480m, according to CEO Malcolm Rodrigues.
Founded in 2011, MyRepublic provides internet services including fibre broadband with a speed of up to 1Gbps to consumers and businesses across Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.
The company will use part of the investment to expand further across the region, having identified Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines as target markets.
MyRepublic is also gearing up to launch a mobile network across its four existing markets. It failed to secure a licence to become Singapore’s fourth telecommunications operator, after it was outbid by Australia-based peer TPG Telecom in late 2016.
The investment gives Makara “a substantial stake” in MyRepublic, according to the firm’s chief executive and co-founder Ali Ijaz Ahmad, though he did not offer further details.
Makara Innovation Fund is a $718m vehicle set by Makara Capital and Singapore’s statutory board Intellectual Property Office in April 2017. It aims to invest up to $108m in 10 to 15 startups with globally competitive technologies over an eight-year period.
The series C round follows news in July 2017 that MyRepublic was seeking to go public by the end of 2018. The company has now reiterated that goal, saying it hopes to float within the next 18 months.
MyRepublic has now secured approximately $95m in funding. Sunshine Network, a telecoms subsidiary of Sinar Mas, led its $24.1m series A round in July 2014, with participation from individual investor Xavier Niel.
Sinar Mas-owned energy company Dian Swastatika Sentosa had invested $3.5m in MyRepublic two months earlier, before telecoms firm DST Communications took part in its $16m series B round in 2015 alongside various undisclosed investors.