Kuala Lumpur, 18 August 2021 - Teleport, airasia digital’s logistics venture, has signed an agreement to acquire local Malaysian online food delivery platform Delivereat valued at USD 9.8 million paid in both cash and Teleport shares. The deal values Teleport at USD 300 million and welcomes prominent investors, including venture capital firm Gobi Partners onboard.

As part of the acquisition, Delivereat’s founders Leong Shir Mein and Tan Suan Sear will be joining the management team at Teleport and airasia digital. Leveraging on AirAsia’s network, Teleport’s ambition is to deliver door-to-door in under 24 hours across Southeast Asia. 

Tony Fernandes, Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Group said, “We are truly excited about this partnership as it supports our strategy to continue to serve the underserved and become the best value delivery company in Asean, on the ground and in the air. At the same time, it strengthens airasia digital’s plan to cover the end-to-end logistics chain, from first mile to last mile deliveries, providing a complete digital ecosystem. This acquisition comes at an opportune time, as we launched airasia food in Penang in April this year, where Delivereat was conceived. With Delivereat joining forces with Teleport, we will be able to drive further growth of fast and affordable delivery transportation options within our key markets as e-commerce continues to surge.

“This deal with Delivereat reinforces strong industry endorsement of the future direction for AirAsia’s Teleport. As a long-time investor of Delivereat, Gobi Partners will also join Teleport’s cap table and we are proud to welcome them onboard. With a valuation of USD 300 million and the support from a growing list of strategic partners and investors, Teleport is well on its way to become the leading logistics player in the region.“

Pete Chareonwongsak, Chief Executive Officer of Teleport said, “We are all-in when it comes to  delivering everything in under 24 hours and from anywhere in our core markets, which is our bet on what the future of e-commerce logistics holds in the region; faster, hyperlocal and on-demand. Importantly, we are the only last mile delivery provider that owns an airline. That’s why we are investing to bring an ecosystem of delivery capabilities together so we can efficiently pair on-demand deliveries with same-day courier arrivals, both domestically and cross borders,  to support local providers, provide the best value and choice to consumers and create more  jobs for our delivery partners in the process.

“The opportunity to grow our unique logistics ecosystem alongside the passionate team of Delivereat, which has carefully developed an extensive and cost-competitive delivery network over the last nine years, will help Teleport expand as quickly as possible, starting with all  major cities in Malaysia, including Penang and Klang Valley and then beyond, across Asean.”

Amanda Woo, Chief Executive Officer of airasia super app said, “The acquisition of Delivereat comes at one of the most exciting and opportune times for us here as we launched airasia food in Penang, the home of Delivereat, a while back and soon to expand to Johor Bahru, Ipoh, Kuching and more. We are happy to welcome them into the airasia family and we look forward to working with Suan Sear and Shir Mein to grow and expand our merchants in airasia food in these cities when we onboard Delivereat’s merchants to our platform in the months to come.”

Leong Shir Mein and Tan Suan Sear, Co-Founders of Delivereat said, “With close to a decade of on-ground experience in the food and on-demand delivery space, we are excited to join forces with Teleport to spur our growth in the rest of the Asean region. We are proud to now be a part of another homegrown brand, one that has revolutionised its industry with unprecedented success. Our goal is to use our strong synergy with Teleport from this merger to emulate the same.” 

Thomas G. Tsao, Chairman and Co-Founder of Gobi Partners said, “I met Shir Mein and Suan Sear at their favourite noodle shop back in 2016. They convinced me that a startup from Penang - a local food haven - could take on the international giants and win. Delivereat will now bring their value proposition to an even larger market through this combination with Teleport. Gobi is extremely proud to have been a part of Delivereat’s journey, and we are excited to be long term strategic partners with Teleport and airasia digital as they reinvent regional logistics and the Super App.”

Delivereat is a homegrown startup from Penang built from the ground up in 2012 by a husband and wife team. It has since grown to deliver more than one million orders to date, and offers food and express delivery services on an on-demand basis from more than 4,000 merchants (consisting of restaurants, wet markets, pharmacies and groceries), carried out by its fleet of up to 4,000 registered delivery partners. Delivereat covers Penang and the Klang Valley, leading the food-delivery space with the largest selection of hawkers in Penang with up to 1,000 hawkers, and is the first to allow customers to combine multiple orders within the same delivery.

Subject to final approvals, Teleport expects the transaction to close by Q3 2021.

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About Teleport

Founded in 2018, Teleport is a venture under airasia digital, undertaking the logistics blueprint for AirAsia. Teleport is on a mission to enable everyone - from single merchants to the largest of companies - to move goods and e-commerce anywhere in Southeast Asia and beyond. It should simply work, like magic. Currently, Teleport is present in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Singapore and China.  For more information, please visit teleport.asia or our social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About Delivereat 

Delivereat is a pioneer in the online delivery platform industry hailing from Penang. It is founded by a husband and wife team who are passionate about contributing to the local community by providing convenience to customers, job employment and increasing revenue streams to the local f&b operators. Our mission is to enable everyone to eat and live better through technology and our vision is to become the local champion of delivery services.

About Gobi Partners

Gobi Partners is one of the longest-standing venture capital firms with a Pan-Asian presence across North Asia, South Asia, and Asean with over US$1.1 billion in assets under management (AUM). The firm, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai, supports entrepreneurs from the early to growth stages and focuses on emerging and underserved markets. 

Founded in 2002, Gobi has raised 13 funds to date, invested in over 270 startups, and has grown to 13 locations, across Bangkok, Beijing, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore, Manila, Riyadh, Shanghai, and Singapore. 

As a Participant of the United Nations Global Compact, Gobi Partners is committed to aligning strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals.

For more information, please visit https://www.gobi.vc