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Garena will use the new funds to further expand its e-commerce arm Shopee in the Indonesian market
Shopping and online games company Garena today announced that it has raised a US$550 million of funding, according to a report by Bloomberg.
GDP Venture, JG Summit Holdings Inc., Farallon Capital Management, Hillhouse Capital, Cathay Financial Holding Co., and the investment arm of Taiwanese food conglomerate Uni-President Enterprises Corp. participated in the latest round for the Tencent-backed startup.
The company declined to share is valuation after this latest round.
Together with the new investment, Garena also introduced its new identity as Sea, which is an acronym of Southeast Asia.
In a press statement, Sea said that the majority of the new funds will be used to expand its e-commerce arm Shopee in Indonesia. It also stated that the online marketplace’s annualised gross merchandise value “has more than doubled” in the past nine months to more than US$3 billion.
Also Read: What factors lead to the success of Garena
As part of the company’s effort to expand in the Indonesian market, it also announced the appointment of three new advisors: former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo, former Indonesian trade minister Mari Elka Pangestu, and Indonesian coal producer PT Toba Bara Sejahtra Tbk. director Pandu Sjahrir.
The expansion plan will put Sea in head-to-head competition with Alibaba and its recent investment in Lazada, as well as with JD with its rumoured investment in Tokopedia.
Tencent itself has been reported to close a US$1.2 billion funding round for Indonesian ride-hailing giant Go-Jek.
As Garena, Sea’s most recent investment round was an undisclosed round from SeaTown Holdings International (SeaTown), GDP Venture, and Mistletoe. It has also raised a US$170 million Series D in 2016, the biggest in the region for the year.
The company is also reported to be in talks for a US$1 billion IPO in the US.
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