Pine Labs, an Indian merchant commerce platform, has bought Malaysian startup Fave for RM185 million (~US$45 million). If you’re unfamiliar with Fave, then you may remember its previous iteration, Groupon Malaysia.
As part of the acquisition deal, Fave is now able to expand its reach to India. Expected to be available later this year, the Fave app can then be used at 500,000 merchant network points powered by Pine Labs across 3,700 cities throughout the country.
“India has the digital advantage with young demography, growing aspirational middle class with rising disposable income and increasing digital savviness,” said Fave CEO and co-founder Joel Neoh.
At the moment, Fave offers a familiar mix of discounts, cashback, and other rewards, while also facilitating payments through FavePay – though it’s not an e-wallet. The company currently operates in 35 cities across Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.
It also claims to have enabled six million consumers in Southeast Asia to save over US$400 million (~RM1.7 billion) across 40,000 retailers since 2016. Fave stated that consumers in Malaysia alone have managed to save around RM369 million to date.
Despite the acquisition, Fave’s leadership structure remains intact according to the company. However, its founders will have much larger roles now as they will soon lead the overall platform for the group across Asia.
At the same time, the company has also planned to hire over 100 new employees in Southeast Asia and India as part of its effort to put the app into the hands of more consumers in both regions.
(Source: Pine Labs / Fave. Image: Fave.)
