This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 10, 2026 - August 16, 2026

UK-listed ICG plc (formerly known as Intermediate Capital Group plc) is looking to exit its investment in Malaysian hypermarket operator TF Value-Mart Sdn Bhd (TFVM), seeking about RM1.3 billion for its majority stake, say sources familiar with the matter.

“They’re sending out feelers,” one of the sources tells The Edge.

ICG — a global alternative asset manager that has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1994 — holds an 81.52% stake in Momensi Maju Sdn Bhd, which wholly owns Progressive Retail (Holding) Sdn Bhd, the parent company of TFVM.

ICG’s indirect holding in TFVM is through one of its Asia-Pacific-focused investment vehicles, ICG Asia Pacific Fund IV.

ICG declined comment when asked about the exit.

Pahang-based TFVM operates a chain of TF Value-Mart stores — known for fresh produce and value pricing — in secondary cities nationwide. According to its CEO Ho Mun Hao, there are currently 51 stores and plans are underway for another two stores to open in the outskirts of Selangor and Kedah.

He declined to comment on ICG or its plans, but stresses that he has no intention of divesting his stake in the hypermarket chain. “The management is very keen on taking the business forward. I have a lot of plans to grow the business,” he says when contacted by The Edge.

Ho and three others — chief financial officer Anthony Lee, merchandising director Tay Saw Hoon and operations director Simon Chong — collectively hold an 11.32% stake in Momensi Maju via investment vehicle Cipta Semula Sdn Bhd.

Altair Capital, a Singapore-based boutique private equity firm, is the remaining shareholder in Momensi Maju with a 7.16% stake, held through Glorious Sense Ventures Ltd.

Sources say ICG plans to monetise its investment in TFVM after holding it for more than five years.

In December 2020, ICG backed some of the hypermarket operator’s management — namely, Ho, Lee, Tay and Chong — in acquiring TFVM from Singapore-based private equity firm KV Asia Capital Pte Ltd.

The price was not disclosed. However, The Edge — citing sources — reported at the time that the deal was done at about RM850 million, representing a price-earnings ratio of about nine times based on TFVM’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of RM95 million.

TFVM is understood to be ICG’s first investment in Malaysia.

Ho and the three individuals were previously with GCH Retail (M) Sdn Bhd, the operator of Giant and Cold Storage. They joined TFVM in 2016 when KV Asia bought into the business.

TFVM enjoyed uninterrupted net profit growth from the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 (FY2014) to FY2022 — eight whole years, remarkably even during the Covid-19 pandemic — with net profit more than quadrupling, from RM16.59 million to RM76.35 million.

However, in FY2023, a boycott among some consumers of certain products, in protest of the Israel-Palestine war that began in October that year, affected sales. In FY2023, net profit fell 16.6% year on year to RM63.64 million on the back of a 4% decline in revenue to RM1.79 billion.

In FY2024, net profit fell by a steep 62% to RM24.2 million even as revenue declined 6.2% to RM1.68 billion, which Ho attributes mainly to the boycott.

He says earnings recovered the following year, with TFVM reporting a net profit of RM35.5 million and revenue of RM1.77 billion in FY2025.

Ho is cautiously optimistic about TFVM’s earnings prospects this year, given the rising cost-of-living pressures following the conflict in the Middle East. “So far, for the first half of the year, we’re doing well. Sales are up, year on year. Second half, we’re a bit worried because we see more uncertainty,” he says.

The last major merger and acquisition activity involving a hypermarket was in March 2023, when Macrovalue Sdn Bhd acquired GCH Retail from the DFI Retail Group at an undisclosed price, giving it access to brands such as Giant, Cold Storage, Mercato and TMC in Malaysia.

Two years later, Macrovalue went on to buy all Cold Storage and Giant supermarkets in Singapore from DFI, in a deal valued at S$125 million.

In March this year, Thailand’s CP Axtra pcl said it would acquire The Food Purveyor, which runs Village Grocer and Ben’s Independent Grocer, for RM1.7 billion from private equity firm Navis Capital. The deal was expected to be completed in the fourth quarter. 

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.