SingTel acquires 35.5% stake in TheMobileGamer for USD 1.5M

SingTel announced today that it has acquired a 35.5% stake in Singapore-based TheMobileGamer (TMG), a startup that aggregates, distributes, licenses and develops mobile gaming software.

The shares were purchased  from the founders of TMG via SingTel Idea Factory, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SingTel. It also has the option of purchasing more than 11.4M in Series B preferred shares at USD 0.087 each. Read more

Cheatsheet of SingTel acquisitions

2012 has shaped up to be a landmark year for SingTel, Singapore’s largest telecom company. Motivated by a need to transform itself into a multimedia and IT company, it has embarked on a wave of acquisitions of mobile and web startups. Israel, China, and India are reportedly in its sights. The acquisitions are aimed at innovative mobile technologies and portals that diversify SingTel revenue stream and create future growth possibilities. In this cheatsheet, we take a quick look at recent SingTel acquisitions. Read more

SingTel acquires New York’s smart photo aggregator app Pixable for USD26.5M

SingTel today announced that it has acquired 100% of New York City-based Pixable for USD26.5M. The company is known for its smartphone app that prioritises photos on social networks for consumers.

Pixable has created a free web and mobile app that offers users a personalized photo experience created from predictive analytics and artificial intelligence. The technologies analyze users’ interactions and consumption habits to prioritize photos from friends and family. Users are presented with the most interesting photos through feeds such as ‘Top of the Day’ and ‘New Profile Pics’.

More than 4 million users have installed Pixable’s ‘mobile photo inbox’ service via the web, iOS devices and Android devices. The company was founded in 2009. Read more

SingTel’s Optus acquires Australian food review site Eatability for US$6.2M

Optus, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SingTel, announced in a statement today that it has acquired Australian food review site Eatability for A$6M (US$6.2M).

Eatability was launched in 2003 by Celeste and Hui Ong. It is one of Australia’s leading restaurant review sites, containing more than 235,000 reviews and 37,000 restaurant listings. Read more

Chinese media provider Linktone acquires Indonesian online news portal Okezone

Linktone, a Chinese media and entertainment provider, has recently acquired Okezone.com, a Bahasa Indonesian online portal targeted at delivering news, entertainment, and video content. Linktone bought Okezone’s shares from PT. Media Nusantara Citra Tbk (“MNC”), Okezone’s majority shareholder.

Okezone has become one of Indonesia’s three most popular news and entertainment site and has a growing base in overseas markets, most notably in the pan-Asian markets including Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. Additionally, Linktone has made plans to relocate its principal office from Shanghai, China to Singapore, a strategic move to further reinforce its aim of focusing on the Asian markets.

According to Mr. Hary Tanoesoedibjo, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Linktone,

“These recent changes to our business are in line with our efforts to transform Linktone from a China-focused provider of mobile value-added services into a multi-platform media distributor serving the entire pan-Asian region.”

With this acquisition, Linktone hopes to expand its service and product offerings in these targeted overseas markets to promote and further its growth.

Overview of venture capitalist industry in South Korea

While the number of venture capital deals has been skyrocketing in South Korea since 2008, acquisitions of startups are still few and far between. Most exits come in the form of IPOs. These findings are derived from a beSUCCESS Special Report by Eunse Lee. Altogether, there are 105 registered VC firms in Korea, handling about KRW 9,460B  (US$8.28B) worth of funds. Read more

Singapore’s Wego invests in Indonesian travel site Valadoo

Wego, a travel metasearch company focused on the Asia-Pacific, announced yesterday that it has invested in Valadoo, an Indonesia-based social commerce travel business that provides members with a curated selection of unique, discounted travel offers targeting the country’s growing number of leisure travelers.

This investment is part of the Singapore-based company’s strategy to develop the Indonesian travel industry, which is one of the fastest growing in Asia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Valadoo offers getaways to both domestic and international destinations, such as exotic dive packages in Raja Ampat Papua, as well as shopping trips to Hong Kong and Singapore. Read more

Startup events helped HungryGoWhere secure the SingTel acquisition

Officially, SingTel‘s acquisition of HungryGoWhere for US$9.4M, Singapore’s number one food portal, was a few months in the making. Unofficially, the building blocks were being laid for three years.

The congenial work relationship between both HungryGoWhere and the InSing.com team was a key factor in the co-founders’ decision to join SingTel.

InSing.com is a lifestyle portal operated by the telecommunications company, covering food, shopping, events, travel, and more. Both sites’ food channels have a combined two million visitors a month.

“We know the people working in the inSing team. When they started off we actually helped with a couple of building blocks. So we know them from day one. The personal chemistry was there, and there was a high level of comfort,” said Yung Yih, who started HungryGoWhere, in a conference call between SGE and all three co-founders.

Read more

Cheatsheet of technology startup exits in Southeast Asia

Last updated: 5 April, 2013

Tech startup activity has intensified in Southeast Asia in the past few years as investors and entrepreneurs have started to look more seriously at opportunities in the region. Acquisition activity has increased too. To help you keep track of what’s happening, here’s a cheatsheet of exits in the past few years, covering Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. Let us know if we missed out on any company, or if you have any feedback on how to improve the list.

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SingTel continues shopping spree, acquires HungryGoWhere for US$9.4M

SingTel announced in a press release today that it is acquiring GTW Holdings, the owners of HungryGoWhere, Singapore’s most visited foodie site, for S$12M (US$9.4M).

The site, which was started in 2007, has a presence in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Australia. Under the terms, GTW will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of SingTel. It will merge operations with inSing.com, another SingTel subsidiary with an audience of two million customers.

With the purchase, SingTel claims it has the largest food and lifestyle audience in the island state.

GTW’s Singapore-based founders will play a crucial role in growing SingTel’s services in Singapore and beyond. Read more