Intouch leads Series B for Thailand's Wongnai

Financial details were not disclosed, but the firm said in a statement that the deal was InVest's biggest investment yet. Previous InVest commitments have been confirmed in a range of THB22-52 million ($640,000-$1.5 million) for stakes of 15-25%. The Wongnai investment is believed to represent a 10% ownership stake.

The deal is being touted as the first-ever Series B in a Thai start-up by a domestic VC. The capital raised will be used to support online-to-offline (O2O) services as well as expansion of lifestyle-focused products under the company's Wongnai Beauty brand.

"We are particularly excited about Wongnai's future plan of new O2O services and expansion into other new verticals, building on its strong brand and solid user base," said Thanapong Na Ranong, vice president and head of venture capital at Intouch. "Recent studies show that Thai consumers are already spending around five hours each day on their mobile phone and in many ways Intouch Group is best positioned to take Wongnai to the next level with our access to over 38 million mobile subscribers as well as a strong network of local SMEs in Thailand."

Wongnai offers mobile search and location-based recommendation services for more than 200,000 businesses, including restaurants, spas and salons. The number of users was estimated to exceed two million last year when the company realized the roll-out of its Wongnai Beauty and e-voucher programs.

Intouch makes investments in telecom, media, IT and digital content businesses in Thailand with a view to exploiting shifts in consumer behavior related to the emergence of new technologies. Earlier this year, it took a 51% stake in a THB500 million television shopping joint venture with Korea's Hyundai Home Shopping Network.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• Expansion
• Thailand
• TMT