SeaTown, GDP Venture, and Mistletoe are joining a global institutional investor base for Garena that already includes Khazanah Nasional, Skype co-founder Toivo Annus and others
Garena Interactive Holding Limited (“Garena”), Southeast Asia’s internet and mobile platform company, today announced a new investment from SeaTown Holdings International (“SeaTown”), Global Digital Prima Venture (“GDP Venture“), and Mistletoe.
The investment amount is undisclosed.
SeaTown, GDP Venture, and Mistletoe are joining a global institutional investor base for Garena that already includes General Atlantic and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan from North America, Khazanah Nasional and Keytone Ventures from Asia, and Skype co-founder Toivo Annus from Europe.
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Founded in 2009, Garena has achieved compound annual revenue growth of more than 95 per cent over the past five years to over US$300 million of gross revenue in 2015.
The company launches two complementary consumer offerings: Shopee, a mobile-centric online marketplace; and AirPay, a Southeast Asian financial services platform.
Shopee has more than quadrupled in size over the past six months and now has an annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) level exceeding US$1.3 billion and over 1.4 million sellers.
In parallel, AirPay has doubled in size over the past year and now has an annualised gross transaction value exceeding US$510 million.
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Garena also announced that Taizo Son and Archana Parekh have joined its Advisory Board of respected industry and regional experts.
Son is the President and CEO of Mistletoe. His startup successes include Yahoo Japan, which he helped launch in 1996. He founded startup incubator Movida Japan and in 2013 launched Mistletoe which more comprehensively supports entrepreneurs and the surrounding ecosystem.
Parekh is a Portfolio Manager at SeaTown and also serves on the Board of the United Nations Development Fund for Women in Singapore.
Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte. acted as placement agent for the Company.
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“We are proud to welcome three of Asia’s most respected investment firms to Garena. Their insights and connectivity across the region will support and accelerate our mission to ‘connect the dots’ for our customers,” said Garena’s Founder, Chairman and Group CEO, Forrest Li, in a press statement.
SeaTown is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings and was established in 2009 as an investment manager focused on absolute returns.
Indonesia-based GDP Venture was founded by Martin B. Hartono in 2010 and is a venture builder focusing on digital communities, media, commerce, and solution companies.
Japan-based Mistletoe was founded by serial entrepreneur and investor Taizo Son in 2013 and is an organisation committed to social impact through investing, co-founding startups, and nurturing ecosystems.
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