The meteoric rise and fall of Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, a transgender businesswoman, has been of epic proportions. Just a few months ago, she was flying high, having made global headlines when her company, JKN Global Group Public Company Limited, acquired the Miss Universe Organization (MUO).

 

Since then it has been a steady downward slide for Anne, who has been squeezed by a liquidity crunch due to high leverage. The crisis has forced her to sell a part of her business and the situation has culminated in her company filing for bankruptcy protection in November.

 

With a debt-to-equity ratio at almost two times, her business lacks the cash flow to meet its debt repayment obligations, which stems from previous corporate bond issuing.

 

Ambitious move

 

Anne, 44, has shown a risk-averse approach to doing business. Her ambitious move to acquire MUO at a price tag of 800 million baht in 2022 stunned observers. Anne’s aim was to leverage MUO as a key platform to sell her media content and many of her own lifestyle products.

 

Transitioning to a transgender woman, Anne is accustomed to dealing with challenges. Born in February 1979, “Pong” was the eldest son in a Thai-Chinese family of five children.

 

Anne attended an elite school in Bangkok and at 16 left Thailand to study in Australia, working a part-time job at a gas station. She earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Bond University.

 

Top picture: Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2023-11-27

 

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5 minutes ago, webfact said:

Just a few months ago, she was flying high, having made global headlines when her company, JKN Global Group Public Company Limited, acquired the Miss Universe Organization (MUO).

 

Everyone can fly high with borrowed money.

 

This happens a lot in Thailand, because people have no credible business plan, and banks are too easy lending money.

Leverage. A powerful tool that must be handled with the greatest of care.

3 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

Everyone can fly high with borrowed money.

 

This happens a lot in Thailand, because people have no credible business plan, and banks are too easy lending money.

Yes, along with people not caring about their debts, they seem to expect them just to dissapear....

Thats a shame.

1 hour ago, BenStark said:

 

Everyone can fly high with borrowed money.

 

This happens a lot in Thailand, because people have no credible business plan, and banks are too easy lending money.

 

JKN worked well because it inhabited a profitable niche, importing Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indian television. It also tried to export Thai series. But then someone dangled the bright shining jewel of Miss Universe in front of Anne's eyes. There was no one in the company to say, "no." It's an entirely family run business.

Anne attended an elite school in Bangkok and at 16 left Thailand to study in Australia, working a part-time job at a gas station. She earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Bond University.

 

This means nothing, a private school, a bachelor (lowest degree), international relations what the f can you do with that. Just for the record worthless.

Never realised she was a transgender before.  You live and learn.

She's still smiling though , at least in the photo.

 

regards worgeordie

A long time ago in a country far away I started in a multi-level marketing company. I was successful and within a couple of months I had almost 10 people working "for me". Wonderful, I am the guy, what can possibly go wrong?

Soon after that, I worked alone again...

Luckily, I didn't invest much money at that time. I definitely learned from that, that only because you are successful for some time doesn't mean you will be successful forever. And if you make a lot of money and you need that money to pay for lots of people and loans, etc., then thinks can go wrong very fast and bad. No money anymore, but lots of unpaid debt... 

She doesn't understand what real leverage is. For that, you need politics.

 

Suppose a person top ticked the NYC real estate market in 2008, grossly overpaying for a building that reeks of The Beast, albeit on 5th Ave. By 2020 the building you paid $1.6 billion for has a market value of $700 million. What's worse, you have a balloon payment of $1.2 billion due. What are you going to do?

 

If serendipity comes your way, you find yourself the front man for your Administration's Middle East policy. Owing to some regional differences of opinion, your country imposes sanctions on a gas-rich Gulf State. You have a chat with them. They're seem quite interested in putting together a refinancing deal on the $700 million value 5th Avenue Beast, that will not only cover the $1.2 billion balloon payment, but put some needed cash in your pocket. The deal gets done. Absolutely coincidentally, the sanctions of said gas-rich govt are dropped a few days later.

 

THAT is real leverage.

What a cock up.