JG Summit Holdings Inc., the holding company of the Gokongwei family, joined five other Asian and American investors that infused $550 million in electronic commerce company Sea Limited.
Sea Limited, formerly Garena Interactive Holding Limited which is behind online shopping platform Shopee, announced a $550-million new round of investment from six investors including JG Summit.
“We look forward to working closely with Sea to deepen its presence in the Philippines and to nurture the growth of our country’s e-sports and e-commerce ecosystems,” said JG Summit president and chief executive Lance Gokongwei.
The parties did not disclose the specific investment of JG Summit in Sea Limited.
Sea Limited said in a statement the majority of the new capital infusion would be used to grow e-commerce platform Shopee, with a focus on key markets.
Shopee has more than doubled in size in the past nine months and now has an annual gross merchandise value exceeding $3 billion.
Founded in Singapore in 2009 as Garena Interactive Holding Limited, Sea Limited is the company’s new brand at the corporate holding company level to reflect leadership across multiple platforms.
Aside from Shopee, its other brands are online gaming company Garena and digital payments service AirPay.
“Garena is a brand that is beloved across our game ecosystem, our Shopee brand has become synonymous with e-commerce in our region, and AirPay is quickly becoming a leader in digital financial services,” said Sea Limited founder, chairman and group chief executive Forrest Li.
“We cherish these three brands, and are now embracing an overall identity for our entire company,” he said.
Apart from JG Summit, the new set of investors include Cathay Financial Holding Co., Ltd., a leader in the insurance, securities, and banking industry in Taiwan; GDP Venture, a leading growth investor; Farallon Capital Management Llc., a global institutional asset management firm; Hillhouse Capital, a global investments firm; and Taiwan’s President International Development Corp.