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Temasek’s 65 Equity Partners pours US$80 million into ShopBack

From left: 65 Equity Partners’ Tan Chong Lee , ShopBack’s Henry Chan and Joel Leong and Adrienne Teh from 65 Equity. (PHOTO: ShopBack)
From left: 65 Equity Partners’ Tan Chong Lee , ShopBack’s Henry Chan and Joel Leong and Adrienne Teh from 65 Equity. (PHOTO: ShopBack)

By Olivia Poh

(Bloomberg) — ShopBack, an online shopping rewards app backed by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, raised US$80 million from the state investment giant’s late stage fund to fuel its expansion.

Temasek’s 65 Equity Partners Holdings will join the Singapore-based startup’s extended Series F round, ShopBack said in a statement on Monday. The round brings the total capital raised by ShopBack to more than US$310 million.

The funding round values the company at close to US$1 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The new injection from 65 Equity Partners brings the total raised for this round to about US$160 million, slightly more than the target of about US$150 million that Bloomberg News reported in February.

ShopBack, whose investors include SoftBank Ventures Asia and Rakuten Capital, offers cashback and other rewards for brands and retailers including Dyson, Lululemon and Foodpanda. It’s adding users as e-commerce gains popularity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Founded in 2014 by Henry Chan and Joel Leong, the platform has expanded to 10 markets across Southeast Asia, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan, according to its website. A representative of 65 Equity Partners will get a ShopBack board seat, joining investors including East Ventures’ Willson Cuaca and Asia Partners’ Nicholas Nash.

The company raised US$75 million in a funding round from investors including Temasek, Rakuten and East Ventures in 2020, and bought fintech startup Hoolah late last year to add “buy now, pay later” services.

Following the acquisition of Hoolah, ShopBack appointed Hamish Moline, former chief commercial officer of Australian fintech company Zip Co., as its managing director for financial services.

© 2022 Bloomberg L.P.