FunNow + Eatigo

FunNow, our portfolio company that has been leading leisure activities platform in Asia, has completed a merger with its competitor Eatigo, as reported by TechCrunch.

FunNow is a platform offering various leisure activities, including restaurant reservations, through its mobile app. Over time, FunNow has operated in countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan. In 2020, they also acquired TableApp, the leading restaurant-booking app in Malaysia. On the other hand, Eatigo provided restaurant reservation services in countries like Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Both companies had significant market shares in their respective countries and decided to merge when they were competing.

Therefore, the merger is expected to create a combined company with a strong presence in those countries and a significant market share in the leisure activities market. In this regard, I believe FunNow has been successfully strengthening their position as a market leader. (For those interested, I've posted related content in the past.)

However, the real key success factor of the merger indeed lies in the post-merger phase. While the reasons, plans, and strategies behind mergers logically seem perfect and impressive most of the time, for a merger to genuinely succeed, it's crucial to align organizational cultures post-merger, integrate and restructure the consolidated organizations, and ensure smooth collaboration among the newly combined top management members. In this sense, FunNow, like any other merging entity, has tasks that need to be done ahead after the merger. Nevertheless, given their successful track record of multiple acquisitions and consistent, robust growth, I have no doubt that the FunNow teams will adeptly handle the integration process of post-merger.

TJ and Michael, I’m thrilled about our journey together!