We built this for families who built something worth keeping.
Pertama Capital partners with family-owned businesses across Malaysia and Singapore to provide growth capital, operational modernization, and a partner who genuinely understands what is at stake.
Running a family business is not the same as running any business.
Succession Planning
Who takes over? How do you protect what you have built while transitioning leadership to the next generation, or to capable operators outside the family? These are not financial questions. They are deeply human ones.
Your Key People
The managers and lieutenants who have been with you for decades are irreplaceable. Any partner who does not see that will destroy what they are trying to acquire. We structure every engagement around protecting and retaining the people who made you successful.
Your Brand and Legacy
You did not just build a company. You built a name, a reputation, a piece of your family's story. That does not appear on a balance sheet, but it matters more than anything on it. We invest to strengthen legacies, not to replace them.
I grew up in a fourth-generation family business.
My family has operated a cattle ranching business in the United States for four generations, nearly one hundred years. Growing up watching my father and aunts and uncles work together to preserve it, I understand what it means to inherit something built by people you love. And I understand how hard it is to involve outside parties who do not understand what they are stepping into.
I began my career in private equity in China, and later founded my own business in the education sector. That path, from the ranch to the boardroom to building something of my own, is what brought me here. I have seen these businesses from every angle: as a family member, as an investor, and as a founder.
We do not sit across the table from family business owners. We sit alongside them: stewards, entrepreneurs, family leaders who have carried something forward, made sacrifices for it, and now face the hardest decision of their lives. What happens next with this treasured asset?
Pertama Capital exists because there must be a better answer to that question, one that honors both the financial opportunity and the human story behind it.
While Michael leads every engagement, we work alongside a network of local advisors and operators across Malaysia and Singapore who understand the cultural, regulatory, and relational dynamics of family businesses in this region. They work directly with the existing family to ensure a smooth and respectful transition.
Michael Lansdowne Hauge
Principal, Pertama Capital
Grow. Professionalize. Endure.
Our strategy is to identify key platform businesses within selected industries in Malaysia and Singapore, combine related entities to create meaningful scale, and modernize operations so the business remains competitive for the next generation. Modernization is not about replacing what works. It is about ensuring what you built continues to outpace competitors in the years ahead and that future generations can reap the rewards.
The result is substantial financial returns for family owners alongside the continued success and preservation of the brands they have spent generations building. We do not strip assets or impose foreign management. We add capital, capability, and a long-term orientation to what you have already proven works.
We structure investments to fit the situation: minority stakes, controlling interests, or gradual transitions through seller financing. There is no single template. Every family and every business is different.
This model is proven. The Southeast Asian market for this kind of partnership is still wide open. That is the opportunity and why we are here.
Simple, confidential, and on your terms.
A Confidential Conversation
Reach out by email. Nothing is recorded, shared, or disclosed. We simply listen to your situation and what you are considering, with no obligation on either side.
We Learn Your Business
If there is mutual interest, we take time to understand your business, your people, and your goals for the future. No term sheets, no pressure. Just a genuine effort to understand what you have built.
A Structure That Fits You
If we are the right fit, we propose an investment structure designed around your family's needs, whether that is a minority stake, a full transition, or something in between. You decide what happens next.
If you are a family business owner, we would welcome the conversation.
We are not the right partner for every situation. But if you are looking for someone who understands the value of what you have built and wants to help you grow it, not extract from it, we would welcome the conversation.
All initial conversations are strictly confidential. We will never disclose that you have been in contact with us.
Submit a Confidential Enquiry