The tech startup mergers and acquisitions (M&A) scene in Southeast Asia over the past decade has been characterised by rapid growth, increasing cross-border activity, and strategic consolidation driven by the region’s thriving digital economy.
According to a report by Google, Temasek, Bain & Company, Southeast Asia’s internet economy grew from US$72 billion in 2018 to US$194 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach US$1 trillion by 2030. The M&A activity grew significantly, with transactions ranging from large-scale unicorn acquisitions to smaller strategic buyouts.
We have compiled Southeast Asia’s leading startup acquisition deals in the past decade below:
Tokopedia
An online marketplace offering multi-category products, such as clothing, beauty products, electronics, food & beverages, books, stationery, and toys.
Country: Indonesia
Acquired by: TikTok
Acquisition price: US$1.5 billion
Year: 2023
Also Read: TikTok to invest US$1.5B for a controlling stake in Tokopedia
BIGO
A video-based social media platform and related services provider involved in live broadcasting, vocal social media, short video platforms, etc.
Country: Singapore
Acquired by: YY
Acquisition price: US$1.45 billion
Year: 2019
Big C
An online platform offering deals and promotions on multi-category products, the company offers deals on various categories of products, such as groceries, beauty, fashion, and toys.
Country: Vietnam
Acquired by: Central Group
Acquisition price: US$1.14 billion
Year: 2016
PropertyGuru
A provider of an online portal to find real estate properties. It provides users with a platform that enables users to specify a location to find a list of relevant registered properties and avail information such as transaction details, neighbourhood insights, and market reports.
Country: Singapore
Acquired by: EQT
Acquisition price: US$1.1 billion
Year: 2024
Lazada
An online marketplace offering multi-category products. The product catalogue includes electronics, home appliances, household goods, toys, sports equipment, beauty, and fashion
Country: Singapore
Acquired by: Alibaba Group
Acquisition price: US$1 billion
Year: 2016
Tesco
An online retail platform offering multi-category grocery products. The product catalogue includes fruits, vegetables, groceries, and beverages.
Country: Malaysia
Acquired by: CP Group
Acquisition price: US$700 million
Year: 2020
OVO
Started as Lippo’s rewards system within its corporate ecosystem, OVO launched e-payments in 2017 and is Indonesia’s leading e-wallet.
Country: Indonesia
Acquired by: Grab
Acquisition price: Not disclosed
Year: 2021
Qoo10
An online marketplace offering multi-category consumer products. The platform provides fashion products, beauty products, home products, grocery products, and much more. It also provides books, albums, and other entertainment products.
Country: Singapore
Acquired by: eBay
Acquisition price: US$573 million
Year: 2018
YouTech
A provider of deals and coupons management platform for retailers. It offers solution such as predictive analytics and budgeting tools, and digital offers with redemption rates.
Country: Malaysia
Acquired by: Inmar
Acquisition price: US$565 million
Year: 2019
Bitkub
A cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform. It allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Wanchain, and OmiseGO in tokens.
Country: Thailand
Acquired by: Siam Commercial Bank
Acquisition price: US$534.7 million
Year: 2021
TradeFx
An online CFD and forex broker. It provides a trading platform to allow its clients to access the market and offers trading in various financial assets, including stocks, commodities, forex, and indices.
Country: Singapore
Acquired by: Playtech
Acquisition price: US$493 million
Year: 2015
Onwards Media Group
It provides software solutions for video delivery, CDN solutions for receiving and retransmitting, and audio and video from encoder and decoder solutions for videos.
Country: Singapore
Acquired by: Golden Glass
Acquisition price: US$469 million
Year: 2015
iProperty Group
iProperty Group operates property portals and offers advertising solutions to its advertisers in the markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
Country: Malaysia
Acquired by: REA Group
Acquisition price: US$412 million
Year: 2015
Intrepid Group
A platform offering e-commerce suite solutions for brands. The company offers services across business areas, from omnichannel e-commerce management to digital marketing, insights, and analytics.
Country: Singapore
Acquired by: Ascential
Acquisition price: US$250 million
Year: 2022
iCar Asia
It owns and operates ASEAN’s network of automotive portals across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Country: Malaysia
Acquired by: Carsome
Acquisition price: US$250 million
Year: 2021
Home Credit
It provides in-store financing (direct non-cash loans in retail outlets) to qualified customers looking to purchase consumer durable goods such as home appliances, electronic goods, mobile phones and furniture. It also provides cash loans, credit cards and revolving loans mainly to existing customers who have established their creditworthiness with the company.
Country: Indonesia
Acquired by: Adira Finance, Krungsri, MUFG
Acquisition price: US$219 million
Year: 2023
MediaLink
It is a meeting place for journalists and businesses interested in finding each other. It claims to help businesses, especially SMEs, get more mileage out of their PR spend by pitching to targeted and relevant media lists.
Country: Singapore
Acquired by: Ascential
Acquisition price: US$207 million
Year: 2017
Shopmatic
Shopmatic is a provider of cloud-based shopping cart solutions. The company provides an integrated platform for listing products, along with payments and logistics support. Its other features include marketing tools, CRM, reporting and analytics, and more. Shopmatic also enables e-tailers to sell their products on other online platforms and marketplaces.
Country: Singapore
Acquired by: MatchMove
Acquisition price: US$200 million
Year: 2022
Coins.ph
A mobile wallet that allows users to pay bills, buy loads and send money without any bank account or credit card needed.
Country: The Philippines
Acquired by: Wei Zhou and Joffre Capital
Acquisition price: US$200 million
Year: 2022
CGCX
It develops a decentralised exchange based on blockchain technology. The firm allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on the platform and provides order summary, market information, a vertical trade ladder with click-to-trade capabilities and multiple order types.
Country: Singapore
Acquired by: Majic Wheels Corp
Acquisition price: US$150 million
Year: 2021
Moka
Moka provides mPOS software and hardware solutions for offline retailers. Its mPOS software features order and inventory management, staff management, business intelligence, and analytics.
Country: Indonesia
Acquired by: Gojek
Acquisition price: US$130 million
Year: 2019.
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