An affiliate of private equity firm KSL Capital Partners has taken a "significant minority stake" in Bangkok-based resort developer and operator Soneva—which operates luxury resorts in the Maldives and Thailand—to support the Asian company’s short- and long-term development goals.
As part of KSL's investment, Hong Kong-based Sailing Capital, which had invested in Soneva in 2014, redeemed its investment in the operator. With the support of Sailing’s investment, Soneva was able to expand its portfolio in the Maldives and open the Soneva Jani Resort in 2016.
"We are immensely grateful to Sailing Capital for the faith it showed in Soneva and our management team. Sailing has been instrumental in our success to date," said Soneva founder Sonu Shivdasani, who established the company with Eva Malmström Shivdasani in 1995. "We are delighted to welcome KSL as our partner in Soneva. We have many exciting plans, and I cannot imagine better partners to help execute the next stage of Soneva's growth."
"Soneva has been a great investment for Sailing Capital," said Liang Tsui, CEO of Sailing Capital. "We have enjoyed a very productive partnership with Soneva and together we have realized the opening of Soneva Jani, a highly acclaimed environmentally sustainable luxury resort, delivered a healthy return on our investment, and are very pleased to see Soneva being ideally positioned for future growth. Whilst our partnership with Soneva is ending, our friendship with the company will continue well into the future."