Online grocer RedMart backed by Facebook billionaire said to seek buyer

[SINGAPORE] RedMart Ltd, the Singapore online grocer backed by billionaire Facebook Inc co-founder Eduardo Saverin, is seeking a buyer as competition intensifies in the city-state, people with knowledge of the matter said.

RedMart is working with an investment bank on options including a possible sale of the grocer, which delivers products ranging from fresh dragonfruit to frozen dumplings, according to the people.

The company has reached out to potential buyers including Singapore supermarket chain NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd to gauge their interest, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private.

The Singapore company has raised tens of millions of dollars from investors including Garena, South-east Asia's biggest tech startup, and SoftBank Ventures Korea amid an increasingly competitive funding environment in the region.

Indonesian online grocer HappyFresh raised more than US$12 million last month, while Singapore concierge and delivery firm Honestbee Pte Ltd completed a US$15 million funding round last year and formed a delivery partnershipwith NTUC Fairprice.

RedMart, founded in 2011, would also consider another round of funding instead of an outright sale, the people said.

Its US$23 million funding round in 2014 attracted new investors SoftBank and San Franciso-based Visionnaire Ventures, as well as existing backers including Saverin, according to its website.

"RedMart has built a strong team of investors and, in the normal course of business, we continue to engage with potential new investors who can add value as we scale," the company said in an e-mailed statement.

"The business continues to grow rapidly and we have more than doubled our revenue thus far in 2016, while remaining on a clear path to profitability."

A representative for Fairprice said the company receives investment pitches from time to time and is unable to comment on such information or proposals.

Mr Saverin relocated to Singapore in 2009 after leaving Facebook and co-founded B Capital Group Management, an early-stage investor in technology companies. The Brazilian-born entrepreneur has a net worth of US$7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

BLOOMBERG

KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE

BT is now on Telegram!

For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes