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Annie Huang first encountered the concept of a SF during her MBA studies at Harvard Business School in 2022. After graduating in May this year, she decided to return to Taiwan to pioneer this model, founding Floreo Capital. The name “Floreo” means “blooming and flourishing” in Latin, reflecting her vision for the venture. Within just a few months, she secured backing from 12 investors to support her mission of acquiring and leading a promising SME to long-term success.
Her investor group includes notable names such as Ambit Partners, Novidam, AIJ Global, James Turner, Kent Weaver (founder of Granite Point), and Noriko Shimazu (founder of JaSFA).
Born and raised in Taiwan, Annie brings extensive experience from her work in family offices, publicly listed companies, and leading investment institutions across Asia. Her expertise spans corporate development, investment evaluation, investor relations, strategic planning, and execution. She has also managed several minority equity investments and acquisition projects in the Asia-Pacific region. Annie has studied and worked in Taiwan, the United States, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia.
She explained that Taiwan’s business landscape is dominated by SMEs, which make up 99% of all companies, totaling around 1.7 million. Of these, 28% have been operating for more than 20 years. Culturally, many business owners in Taiwan aspire to remain active in their businesses until their final days, which is why the country has some of the oldest operators in Asia. However, in recent years—particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic—this mindset has begun to shift.
“Owners are starting to see the value in letting go, enjoying travel, and embracing retirement,” Annie shared. “Meanwhile, many members of the second generation, often educated abroad, are reluctant to take over the family business.” As a result, thousands of companies with over $1M in EBITDA and significant growth potential are becoming viable targets for search funds.
Regarding her focus, Annie noted that she is unlikely to pursue manufacturing companies, as the sector remains male-dominated in Taiwan. Instead, she is concentrating on four key industries:
- Healthcare: Driven by Taiwan’s aging population.
- B2B Trading Companies: Offering stability and growth potential.
- Property Management Services and Maintenance: A sector with growing demand due to frequent typhoons and earthquakes.
- IT Services: Particularly those linked to the semiconductor industry.
Annie also believes her identity as a woman can be an asset during negotiations. “Preserving the company’s legacy is very important to retiring CEOs. They might view me as someone more empathetic and committed to taking care of employees,” she said. She added that in many cases, the CEO’s wife plays a significant role as the bookkeeper and often has considerable influence over the final decision.
Regarding deal structure, Annie highlighted that Taiwan’s market is receptive to a “European approach” of 50% equity and 50% debt financing, contrasting with the 80–90% debt financing common in Japan.
