Founders of Singapore's food ordering app Oddle look to exit

[SINGAPORE] Founders of Singapore food ordering app Oddle, that offers choices from Michelin-starred restaurants to bubble tea concoctions, are working with an adviser to exit the company, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The startup, co-founded by Jonathan Lim, Pua Yong Xiang and Jeremy Lee, has reached out to potential suitors to gauge interest, said the people, asking not to be named as the process is private. Sale documents show that Oddle has raised total funds of S$5 million over the past three years and is projecting a gross profit of S$8 million for fiscal year ending March 2021, the people said.

Online food ordering from people stuck indoors has taken off since the outbreak of the Covid-19, boosting revenues at companies such as Oddle. Deliberations are at early stage and the founders could decide to keep the business, the people said. The firm declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

REVENUE GROWTH

The startup counts SPH Ventures, RB Investment, Fidelis Capital, Wavemaker Partners and Quest Ventures among its backers, according to its most recent filings with Singapore regulators. The company's order management system is used by some 3,000 brands in more than 10 countries, its website show.

Among these outlets are Odette, ranked as Asia's best restaurant, where people can order Normandy crab dumplings and milk-fed Axuria lamb, as well as humbler offerings like bubble tea and ice cream.

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Oddle posted revenue of S$1.8 million in the year ended March 31, 2018, up 57 per cent from a year earlier, according to the filings. Its net loss narrowed to S$2.3 million from S$2.6 million.

Oddle's move comes as the number of tech startup exits in South-east Asia was little changed in the first half of this year from a year ago, according to a recent report by Singapore-based Cento Ventures. The proceeds generated from the exits dropped by almost 50 per cent, the report said.

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