Affinity Equity Partners acquired ~90% of PT Yupi Indo Jelly Gum — Southeast Asia’s largest gummy candy manufacturer — in a transaction worth around US$1.1–1.2 billion, completed in March 2025 alongside Yupi’s Jakarta IPO. It was the largest buyout in Southeast Asia of its period, Indonesia’s first IPO with a concurrent change of control, and the valuation benchmark every ASEAN food manufacturer now gets measured against.
Deal Details
| Buyer / Investor | Affinity Equity Partners, Hong Kong — private equity (~US$14bn AUM) |
| Target | PT Yupi Indo Jelly Gum, Indonesia — SE Asia’s largest gummy manufacturer, exports to 36+ countries |
| Country | Indonesia |
| Industry | Food |
| Business Type | Manufacturer / Brand Owner |
| Transaction Type | Buyout (change of control), concurrent with IPO |
| Stake | ~90% (Husodo Angkosubroto family sold 89.9% via PT Sweets Indonesia) |
| Deal Value | IDR 18.4 trillion (~US$1.1–1.2 billion); concurrent IPO raised ~US$123–130m for 10% |
| Announcement Date | December 2024 (agreement) |
| Completion Date | March 2025 (with IDX listing) |
| Status | Completed |
About the Buyer
Affinity Equity Partners is one of Asia’s largest independent private equity firms, managing roughly US$14 billion, with a long record in consumer businesses including Burger King Korea, Yakult Australia and Island Hospital in Malaysia. It acquired Yupi through PT Confectionery Consumer Products Indonesia, a vehicle created for the transaction.
Affinity’s thesis in consumer manufacturing is consistent: buy the category leader with a genuine production moat, professionalise, expand exports, and exit through public markets — a playbook the concurrent IDX listing conveniently pre-builds.
About the Target
Founded in 1996, originally as a joint venture with Germany’s Trolli (Mederer Group), Yupi grew into Southeast Asia’s dominant gummy producer, exporting to more than 36 countries with manufacturing concentrated in Indonesia. Gummy production at Yupi’s scale is capital- and know-how-intensive — starch moulding lines, gelatine handling, halal certification for export markets — which keeps would-be competitors and private-label copycats at a distance.
The founding Husodo Angkosubroto family exited essentially in full, selling their 89.9% stake through PT Sweets Indonesia — one of the cleanest full exits by an Indonesian founding family in recent memory.
Why This Deal Matters
At ~US$1.2–1.3 billion enterprise value, Yupi set the price benchmark for ASEAN food and confectionery manufacturers. Every scaled food producer in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand now has a hard comparable for what institutional capital pays for category leadership, export reach and manufacturing scale.
The structure was also a first: a change-of-control buyout executed simultaneously with a public listing had not been done in Indonesia. Affinity gets control plus a liquid public currency for its eventual exit; public investors get a governance-reset company with a motivated new owner. Expect the template to be copied.
Industry Impact
The deal tells family-owned ASEAN food champions that full exits at premium valuations are available — which builds the regional M&A pipeline. Indonesia’s consumer-manufacturing base has produced other institutional-scale stories, from Wardah’s rise as Indonesia’s largest cosmetics manufacturer to the country’s growing OEM sector; Yupi now proves the exit end of that journey. For manufacturers weighing their options, the broader contract manufacturing market context matters: scale and export certification are what command premium multiples.
Our Analysis
Affinity is buying a manufacturing moat, not just a brand: replicating Yupi’s production scale, halal export certifications and distribution would take a competitor a decade. We expect bolt-on acquisitions in adjacent sweets categories, margin work on the export mix, and a staged sell-down via the IDX listing in three to five years. The signal for the region is unambiguous — family owners of scaled food manufacturers increasingly prefer clean full exits over minority partnerships, and sponsors will pay landmark prices for genuine category leaders. Malaysia’s confectionery and snacks producers should take note of the multiple.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who bought Yupi?
Affinity Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm with about US$14 billion under management, acquired roughly 90% of PT Yupi Indo Jelly Gum from the founding Husodo Angkosubroto family, completing in March 2025.
How much was the Yupi buyout worth?
Around IDR 18.4 trillion (US$1.1–1.2 billion) for ~90% of the company, valuing Yupi at roughly US$1.2–1.3 billion — the largest buyout in Southeast Asia of its period.
What is special about the Yupi transaction structure?
It was Indonesia’s first IPO with a concurrent change of control: Affinity’s buyout completed at the same time as Yupi’s listing on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in March 2025, which raised a further ~US$123–130 million for a 10% free float.
What does Yupi make?
Yupi is Southeast Asia’s largest gummy candy manufacturer, founded in 1996 (originally a joint venture with Germany’s Trolli), producing in Indonesia and exporting to more than 36 countries.
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