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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Lee Thiam Wah, the founder of Malaysian mini-mart chain 99 Speed Mart, is Asia's latest billionaire.</li><li>The company went public on Monday, becoming the largest Malaysian IPO in seven years.</li></ul>Lee Thiam Wah started selling snacks at a roadside stall. Now, he's Asia's latest entrepreneur to reach billionaire status.He founded the <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/the-convenience-store-market-in-malaysia-2019-2022-the-industry-is-witnessing-fast-developments-and-presents-huge-potential-for-convenience-store-players-1029242346">convenience store</a> chain 99 Speed Mart and officially became a billionaire on Monday after his company went public in Kuala Lumpur.The $531 million initial public offering on Monday shattered a seven-year record in the country for the largest IPO, at 1.65 Malaysian ringgit, or $0.38, per share. This brings Lee's net worth to $3.3 billion, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-08/malaysia-s-biggest-ipo-in-7-years-to-turn-99-speed-mart-founder-into-billionaire?srnd=homepage-asia">Bloomberg's</a> Billionaires Index.Born in 1964 in the Malaysian city of Klang, Lee grew up in a family with 11 children. His parents, a construction worker and a hawker, struggled to make ends meet, per Bloomberg. Lee contracted polio as a child and lost the use of his legs, making it difficult to find work. He turned to entrepreneurship, selling snacks from a stall to support himself."I have to help myself. Nobody would hire me due to my physical limitation," Lee told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/global/2010/0315/entrepreneurs-malaysia-speedsmart-handicaps-king-of-mini-marts.html">Forbes</a> in 2010.He opened his first grocery store in 1987 at the age of 23. Over the next decade, his business grew into a chain of eight stores under the name Pasar Mini 99.Lee's wife, Ng Lee Tieng, joined the company in 1997 as a purchasing executive. Together, they built what would become the largest mini-mart chain in Malaysia, with 2,651 stores nationwide, according to the company's IPO <a target="_blank" href="https://anns.sgp1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/3473571.pdf">prospectus</a>.Until this week's IPO, the couple fully owned the business. Lee will remain its majority shareholder, controlling up to a combined 79.7% stake. He will continue as the company's CEO. Ng will hold a 3.2% stake in the company.The company has a 40% share of the mini-mart market in Malaysia and controls nearly 12% of the overall grocery sector, according to the prospectus.The IPO attracted 14 major investors, including firms like abrdn Asia and UOB Asset Management, Bloomberg reported. The company plans to use over half of its IPO proceeds to add another 250 stores a year until it reaches about 3,000 outlets in three years, set up new distribution centers, and purchase new delivery trucks.The company saw a second-quarter profit of 125.5 ringgit — a 66.3% year-over-year increase, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/99-speed-mart-opens-121-higher-debut-malaysias-biggest-ipo-7-years-2024-09-09/#:~:text=99%20Speed%20Mart%2C%20founded%20by,%2C%202023%2C%20its%20prospectus%20showed.">Reuters</a> reported on Monday. 99 Speed Mart also posted a revenue of over 9,000 million ringgit in 2023, over four times that of its main competitor, 7-Eleven Malaysia, per its IPO prospectus.99 Speed Mart didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Asia's newest billionaire founded a grocery store in 1987 and never gave up any stake — until this week's IPO

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jefferies hosted a conference to bring together late-stage tech founders, investors and bankers.</li><li>At the conference, there was talk of IPOs and M&amp;A being back.</li></ul>As bankers and venture capitalists nibbled on caviar sushi and sipped champagne and sake this week at Nobu Malibu, there was a gleeful mood at the beachside closing dinner of the Jefferies Private Internet Conference.IPOs and M&amp;As are finally back, and on top of that, there is an exciting new catalyst for rising tech valuations — generative AI."We surveyed a lot of the 140 entrepreneurs that are coming here and found 'IPO' is not a dirty word anymore," said Cameron Lester, Co-Head of Technology, Media and Telecom Investment Banking at Jefferies. "People are thinking maybe they will go public."After a Covid pause, Jefferies resumed this conference in 2022 to bring together late-stage tech founders, investors, and bankers. But there was not much to talk about in the way of actual deals. Now the logjam is finally breaking."We're as busy today as we were in 2021," said Jason Greenberg, Co-Head of Global Technology, Media, and Telecom Investment Banking at Jefferies."We ultimately succeed and get paid on the success of deals happening and closing. I don't think as many deals we're on today will turn into announced deals in 2024 or early 2025 compared to 2021. But even if they don't close at the same rate, you're going to see a market that was down 60% peak to trough recover a lot."AI is driving many of those deals, according to Greenberg; The theme of this year's conference was "In the Age of AI.""Beyond typical deal considerations, AI has emerged as the single biggest new influence today in tech M&amp;A," according to Greenberg.Reports that Salesforce <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/salesforce-s-strategic-and-financially-sound-acquisition-of-informatica-backed-by-analyst-s-buy-rating-1033255009">is in talks</a> to buy the $10 billion data management software firm Informatica is another sign dealmaking is back (though some people at the conference were skeptical the deal would ultimately go through).This week, there was also promising news that Goldman Sachs reported its investment banking division saw fees rise 32% in the first quarter thanks to strong underwriting and advisory work growth."It's clear that we're in the early stages of a reopening of the capital markets," said David Solomon, the bank's chairman and CEO, told investors.Reddit went public in March, though the stock is down from its opening price. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-11-startups-most-likely-to-ipo-in-2024-2024-3#epic-games-2">Other companies in the IPO pipeline include Databricks. Epic Games, and Getir.</a><div type="image" title="Marc Andreessen speaks at the Jefferies Private Internet Conference 2024" height="1391" width="2048" msid="109431736" hostid="261"></div>Aside from the lavish Nobu dinner, attendees at Jefferies also heard from Andreessen Horowitz cofounder Marc Andreessen and Anthropic's head of business development, Neerav Kingsland.Jefferies has significantly bulked up its tech investing division to better compete against more established players like Goldman and JP Morgan Chase."In the last 18 months, we've increased the number of MDs [managing directors] in our investment bank by 70%, which is kind of crazy given what's happened to our industry in terms of the decline over the past couple of years," Lester said.Now that deals are finally happening again, Lester is hoping the investment pays off."People don't typically choose a banker in a 30-day period," Lester said. "They choose it based on relationships built over a couple of years."

Caviar, champagne, and IPOs: At the Jefferies Private Internet Conference, tech dealmaking was back

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Asia's newest billionaire founded a grocery store in 1987 and never gave up any stake — until this week's IPO

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Caviar, champagne, and IPOs: At the Jefferies Private Internet Conference, tech dealmaking was back

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