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This is Paktor’s third major move in 2017, following several strategic acquisitions, a relaunch in South Korea, and the appointment of a new CFO
Almost four months after acquiring a big stake in live-streaming company 17 Media, Singapore’s leading dating app firm Paktor Group has announced a merger with the Taiwanese startup to form a social entertainment company, called M17 Entertainment.
With this equity swap deal, the new entity will have a combined user base of 50 million. With the 200-strong team and assets of Paktor Group and 17 Media, M17 is positioned to be one of the largest social entertainment companies in Asia, spanning eight offices in the region.
The merger with 17 Media is the Paktor’s third major move in 2017, following several other strategic acquisitions, a relaunch in South Korea, and the appointment of a former top Jiayuan executive Shang Hsiu-Koo as CFO.
Additionally, M17 has announced that it has received an undisclosed amount in investment from Korean VC firm KTB Network, through its KTB China Synergy Fund, as part of a larger round, which is due to close in a few weeks.
Founded in July 2013, Paktor Group provides a suite of products, including Paktor, Down, Sweet, Goodnight, and Kickoff, In addition, it also runs offline matchmaking agency GaiGai and image and date coaching agency Fleek. Paktor is currently a top dating platform in Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam and South Korea.
In October last year, Paktor raised US$32.5 million in funding led by K2Global, with participation from existing investor, Indonesian conglomerate PT Media Nusantara Citra Tbk. This was preceded by a US$10 million from investors including YJ Capital, Global Grand Leisure, Golden Equator Capital and Sebrina Holdings Venture Capital.
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Founded in 2015, 17 Media is a leader in Taiwan and Hong Kong. With over 50,000 active broadcasters, the app ranks top 3 in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. 17 Media claims it has over 30 million users around the world.
The startup’s app “17” is a leading live video streaming and content sharing app in the region for celebrities, entertainers and influencers.
As per a statement, M17’s revenues has grown 10x in the last six months to US$100 million on an annualised basis. With its upcoming regional expansion, the group expects to achieve US$200 million in revenues by the end of 2017.
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