Garena Rebrands as Sea After Raising $550 Million in New Funding

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Garena Rebrands as Sea After Raising $550 Million in New Funding

by Yoolim Lee
May 8, 2017, 9:00 AM GMT+8

Garena has rebranded as Sea Ltd. after Southeast Asia’s most valuable startup secured $550 million in funds to step up a battle with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and other players in Indonesia.

The eight-year-old startup backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. landed a clutch of new investors in its latest funding round, including some of the region’s wealthiest families. They include GDP Venture, led by Martin Hartono, the son of Indonesia’s richest man, and JG Summit Holdings Inc., founded by Philippine billionaire John Gokongwei.

The shopping and online games company is staking out a spot as competition in Southeast Asian e-commerce intensifies, particularly in the largely untapped market of Indonesia. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has expanded its online marketplace since buying control of Lazada Group SA in 2016, while JD.com Inc. is said to be investing in domestic player Tokopedia to boost its business in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. 

Founded by Chinese-born entrepreneur Forrest Li in Singapore in 2009, the company’s new name is also an acronym for Southeast Asia. Its businesses include the online games brand Garena, e-commerce operator Shopee and digital payments service AirPay. It’s said to have picked Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to prepare for an initial public offering -- possibly in the U.S. -- that could fetch about $1 billion.

More details in https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...ew-funding
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