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Post-acquisition, Groupon Malaysia will transition into Fave and cover restaurants, beauty, wellness, gyms, studios, hotels, holidays, leisure, and entertainment

KFit Group, a leading O2O company that also offers a subscription-based fitness sharing services in Southeast Asia, has acquired the Malaysian business unit of Groupon, an e-commerce marketplace connecting millions of subscribers with local merchants by offering activities, travel, goods and services in more than 28 countries.

This follows KFit’s acquisition of Groupon’s Indonesia business in August this year.

The latest deal will see Groupon Malaysia transition to Fave (its recently launched O2O platform) in early 2017 and expand Fave’s offerings to cover restaurants, beauty, wellness, gyms, studios, hotels, holidays, leisure, entertainment and professional services.

Fave aims to be a marketplace where businesses can offer competitive pricing, flexible offer structures and loyalty solutions, with tools to help them succeed in mobile commerce. It is available in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Singapore, listing over 3,200 businesses across these cities.

“The local insights of Groupon Malaysia’s team and KFit Group’s technology expertise will make a winning combination. With our Indonesian business achieving nearly 2x growth since our acquisition, we are confident that the same growth principles will bring an exciting new local commerce offering to Malaysia,” said Joel Neoh, Founder of KFit Group.

Started in April 2015 as a fitness sharing platform, KFit has now become an O2O company and expanded to various other verticals such as food and restaurants, beauty and wellness, and lifestyle and Activities. The platforms under the KFit Group  — Fave, Groupon Indonesia and KFit — have connected millions of customers to thousands of offline businesses in key Southeast Asian market centres.

In February this year, KFit raised US$12 million in Series A round led by Sequoia Capital, Venturra Capital, SIG, and Axiata Digital Innovation Fund. Two months later, KFit absorbed rival Passport Asia.

Also Read: Fitness startup battle: KFIT vs GuavaPass

“Millions of local businesses are booming in China thanks to the adoption of O2O services, with hundreds of millions of consumers embracing these platforms as part of their day to day lives. The convenience and value benefits of these platforms are key drivers of this new norm. This future is inevitable for Southeast Asia and we hope to be at the forefront of this exciting shift,” added Neoh.

“With Joel’s experience in leading Groupon Asia Pacific in the past, we are confident that KFit Group will be able to grow the business. As a strategic partner in KFit Group, we look forward to seeing the company take big strides in the coming months,” said Michel Piestun, President of APAC for Groupon.

Image Credit: KFit

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