KUALA LUMPUR: Indian merchant platform company Pine Labs has acquired Fave Asia Technologies Sdn Bhd (Fave) in a deal valued over US$45 million (RM185 million).
With this acquisition, Indian consumers will be able to use Fave app later this year to save across 500,000 merchant network points powered by Pine Labs across 3,700 cities in India.
Further, the acquisition will also help both companies accelerate their growth in the Asia region and unlock massive consumer opportunities across retail, food and beverage (F&B), fashion, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) markets.
Joining forces with Pine Labs will reinforce Fave's market position in Southeast Asia.
As Southeast Asia's fast-growing consumer fintech platform, Fave has enabled 6 million consumers in the region to save over US$400 million across 40,000 retailers since 2016.
Pine Labs chief executive officer B Amrish Rau said consumers have tremendous choices in their payment types. They want to be sure that they save on every transaction.
"Fave helps consumers apply their best rewards, coupons, gift cards and cashbacks on all transactions in a seamless manner.
"Fave team have built a loyal consumer base with their smooth checkout experience. We are excited to partner with them in this journey in South East Asia and India," he said in a statement today.
Fave's founders will have their roles expanded to lead the overall consumer platform for the group across Asia.
The platform will also be hiring over 100 new employees in Southeast Asia and India to accelerate cashless payments and smart savings across the region.
Further, Fave will continue to introduce new smart payment features via the Fave platform, unlocking new ways to maximize joy and value in every shopping experience for consumers across Asia.
In August last year, Fave announced a partnership with Singtel and DBS Bank that has enabled over half a million Singaporeans to use their respective Singtel Dash and Paylah! e-wallet app to pay at Fave partner stores.
Fave co-founder and chief executive officer Joel Neoh said Pine Labs has been a great partner and investor.
"And it only made sense for us to join our synergies together and work towards our shared vision of building a truly global consumer and merchant platform.
"India has the digital advantage with young demography, growing aspirational middle class with rising disposable income and increasing digital savviness.
"We are confident that the Asia Pacific (APAC) e-payments landscape will continue to achieve exponential growth in the coming decade. Together, we will be stronger, faster and better," he said.
In India, the introduction of Fave app this year comes at an opportune moment, with unified payments interface (UPI) growing to 2.7 billion transactions in March 2021.
Pine Labs also recorded a significant growth of 171 ppercent in UPI transactions over the last two quarters.
Fave app will be rolled out across all major Indian cities.