Kollective Ventures (KV), a capital advisory and investment firm based in Singapore, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Paktor Group from Taiwan-based M17 Entertainment.
The transaction details remain undisclosed.
Paktor is the umbrella that owns a few dating assets, including its namesake app available in Taiwan, Korea and Southeast Asia; and Goodnight, a voice- dating app.
This deal also marks KV’s foray into full buyouts, beyond minority equity investments, as per a press release.
Kheng Lian Ho, Managing Partner of KV, said: “Paktor is a rock solid asset with many high potential products under its wing. The dating industry in Asia has been growing rapidly in recent years. We look forward to announcing several growth initiatives in the near future.”
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Shn Juay, CEO of Paktor, said: “Paktor has firmly established itself as the leading dating group in the region and we believe with the support of Kheng Lian and her team, we will be able to push into high growth areas like video and voice dating. Global dating leaders have shown the immense size of these businesses but in Asia, the growth is only just starting.”
Founded in July 2013, Paktor Group’s other products include Down, Sweet, and Kickoff, In addition, it also runs offline matchmaking agency GaiGai and image and date coaching agency Fleek.
In 2016, Paktor raised US$32.5 million in a funding round, 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.
In April 2017, the group announced a merger with the Taiwanese startup to form a social entertainment company, called M17 Entertainment. This deal came almost four months after it acquired a big stake in live-streaming company 17 Media.
In March, TechInAsia reported that Paktor conducted multiple layoffs since 2018. Its headcount fell from about 250 to 190 between 2018 and 2019.
KV is a boutique advisory focused on capital raising, investments and mergers and acquisitions. It has raised funds for and/or invested in top technology companies and venture capital funds including SpaceX, M17 Group, Coffee Meets Bagel, Vertex Ventures and Monks Hill Ventures to name a few. We work with family offices, UHNWs, institutions and top founders.
The global dating market is fast growing and evolving, most recently to incorporate video and voice elements into its mix. Video and voice dating have proven its potential through many fast growing products globally. Paktor said it will capitalise on this trend with its push into the arena armed with additional capital from KV.
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