E-commerce firm Lazada, which is backed by Chinese giant Alibaba Group Holding, has acquired Singapore's online grocer RedMart for an undisclosed sum.
Lazada, which is headquartered in Singapore and has operations across Southeast Asia, said the transaction will be completed in the fourth quarter.
RedMart is backed by backed by Facebook billionaire co-founder Eduardo Saverin but has been facing intense competition in recent times, forcing it to look for a buyer.
The company said the capital inflow post acquisition will boost investments that will position it better in the local market. "Through this partnership, we can further scale our logistics and tech platform to extend our product assortment and to offer an even more convenient service for our customers in Singapore. The capital flexibility provided through this deal will go towards innovating to delight our customers," Roger Egan, co-founder and CEO of RedMart, said.
Meanwhile Lazada said in a statement both companies will benefit from each other's cutting-edge technological and operational infrastructure, and an extended customer network.
"As part of our growth strategy, we are always looking for ways to serve our customers better by adding new product categories and improving our service offering. RedMart's strong management team and their relentless focus on putting the customer first has resulted in customers loving them in Singapore," Lazada CEO Maximilian Bittner said.
RedMart will "continue to operate independently" and the management team will stay on, the companies said in a joint statement.
