Wavemaker takes over Ardent's SE Asia venture portfolio
US venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners has taken over the venture portfolio of Thailand-based Ardent Capital.
Wavemaker will manage the portfolio after its merger with Ardent Ventures, the GP's venture capital arm. Ardent will continue to manage the portfolio of its incubator division Ardent Labs, which includes such companies as Indonesian mother and baby-focused e-commerce site Orami and Southeast Asia-focused e-commerce solutions provider aCommerce.
While Wavemaker will deal with day-to-day management of the portfolio, Ardent will retain legal ownership, sharing profits with Wavemaker. Ardent CEO Adrian Vanzyl (pictured) will join Wavemaker as a venture partner. Start-ups funded through Ardent will have access to Wavemaker's international investor network along with the US GP's own portfolio companies.
Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed, but on its website Ardent said the portfolio is worth over $350 million. Start-ups backed through the fund include Indonesian shopper intelligence and engagement app developer Snapcart and online grocer HappyFresh, in addition to technology news source e27. The fund provides early and growth-stage capital to Southeast Asian start-ups in technology-enabled sectors, particularly e-commerce.
Ardent's holding company has managed both Ardent Capital and Ardent Labs since its founding in 2013, but it no longer sees Southeast Asia's start-up scene as a frontier market. The firm decided to hand over the Ardent Capital portfolio so that those companies can have access to a more established VC investor's network. Splitting off the VC side will also allow Ardent to focus on hands-on management of its incubator.
Wavemaker's relationship with Ardent goes back to 2013, when the US firm - a member of the DFJ Global Network - took part in Ardent's first round of external funding along with US-based Siemer Ventures and Japanese VCs Recruit Strategic Partners and GMO Venture Partners. The GP also shares some portfolio companies with Ardent, including Snapcart, in whose $1.7 million round earlier this year the two firms took part along with Sinar Mas Digital Ventures and SPH Media Fund.
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