Vending Machines International Secures SGD 135 mn Capital Commitment From Global Emerging Markets
Vending Machines International (VMI), today announced a SGD 135 Million capital commitment from GEM Global Yield LLC SCS (“GGY”), the Luxembourg-based private alternative investment vehicle. Under the agreement, GGY will provide VMI with a Share Subscription Facility of up to SGD 135 million for a 36-month period following a public listing of VMI’s common stock. VMI will control the timing and maximum amount of drawdowns under this facility and has no minimum drawdown obligation. “VMI is very pleased to be selected by the GEM Group to receive this investment. It is a credit to the GEM management that they very quickly grasped that the world is moving to remove single use plastics from the supply chain. VMI is extremely well placed to take advantage of this transition. With GEM’s funds to strengthen the VMI balance sheet VMI will be able to assist the beverage industry by offering a viable alternative to single use plastic bottles on a global scale. This funding will broaden our global reach and further enhance our research and development facilities as we continue to interact with the world’s largest beverage companies.” -Leicester Chatfield – Founder and CEO.
Vending Machines International Pte Ltd (VMI) is a Singapore-registered entity providing unique solutions in water distribution with zero plastic waste. Established in 2015, VMI has successfully developed its own water dispensing kiosk network in Australia designed to fully understand how to interact with their customers and to test the VMI technology. In the next stage of its development, VMI is pivoting to a highly scalable white-label and licensing strategy which is underpinned by strong interest from international FMCG brand owners. Global FMCG companies have switched to other forms of packaging like tin cans, glass bottles, paper boxes, etc; however, these materials come with trade-offs. Mining aluminium, for example creates toxic waste. Glass bottles also have a carbon footprint from their energy-intensive production process, and their heavier weight means that they also create more emissions during transportation than plastic. Thus, refilling reusable bottles is the only low-impact option. It is time for the world to switch from “disposable” and “recyclable” to “reusable” solutions and VMI is very well placed to be a world leader in this endeavour. VMI’s Head office is in Singapore. Thailand is the company’s base for manufacturing, our inhouse software development and a large, experienced research and development team. VMI also has an operation in Australia focusing on the Australasian market. VMI also has a research and development team who have developed the world’s first water vending machine which never needs refilling as it extracts its water from the atmosphere.
About GEM
Global Emerging Markets (“GEM”) is a $3.4 billion, Luxembourg-based private alternative investment group with offices in Paris, New York and The Bahamas. GEM manages a diverse set of investment vehicles focused on emerging markets and has completed over 480 transactions in over 70 countries. Each investment vehicle has a different degree of operational control, risk- adjusted return, and liquidity profile. The family of funds and investment vehicles provide GEM and its partners with exposure to: Small-Mid Cap Management Buyouts, Private Investments in Public Equities and select venture investments.