Jakarta-based brand aggregator Tjufoo and B2B commerce company Sinbad on Tuesday confirmed their merger and announced the creation of a new holding entity called Horizon.
DealStreetAsia first broke the story of their merger plans in April.
For the co-founders of both companies, the merger is seen as a way to grow exponentially in a relatively shorter timeframe.
Both companies will retain their respective brands. With the merger, Sinbad will be able to boost its sales volume by having more products while Tjufoo can tap into the former’s distribution points and fulfillment network.
“Tjufoo can give us the next step to build our own brand because Sinbad, as a distribution and platform B2B e-commerce company, wants to have a brand that we can distribute to stores,” Sinbad CEO and founder Emilio Wibisono told reporters late on Tuesday.
Tjufoo CEO and co-founder TJ Tham is set to take the helm of the new holding entity.
While Sinbad is still operating at a net loss, the newly merged entity is operating at a net profit, Wibisono said. Tjufoo has been profitable since a year after the company started, Tham added.
Tjufoo was co-founded in 2022 by TJ Tham, who had previously played a foundational role at Grab, and Aldrian Foo as a so-called house of brands focused on offline Indonesian brands.
According to DealStreetAsia’s DATA VANTAGE, the brand aggregator has raised a total of $12 million in funding from TNB Aura, Adaptive Ventures, and other investors.
Founded in 2018, Sinbad has raised $5.6 million in funding from Genesia Ventures, MDI Ventures, Mandiri Capital, and others. However, there have been reports of Sinbad raising double-digit funding from existing investors.
IPO on horizon
Despite the current funding slowdown in the market, sources have told DealStreetAsia that the new entity born out of the Tjufoo-Sinbad merger could potentially raise a fresh sizeable round.
“I think this year we see [deal flow] being better, to be honest, especially for regional investors. A lot of people from outside of Indonesia [such as] Singapore, Japan, Korea, are wanting to invest here,” Tham said.
“It’s a good time for companies that have good fundamentals, good business strategy to go out there and fundraise,” he said, confirming that the firm is fundraising. “I think as a startup, we are always in the process [of fundraising].”
Tham also noted that going for an initial public offering is “very viable” for the company, especially in Indonesia as both Tjufoo and Sinbad are operating in the archipelago.
“If you look at IDX, you need to have a track record of at least three very solid years to be able to list to the main board. I think, give us three to four years, I think it’s something we would like to do. Whether we can do it, whether it’s conducive or not, who knows?” he said.
Glen Ramersan, the managing partner at TNB Aura, told reporters that he “felt strongly” about the company going for an IPO.
“Without giving too much of the timeline, I think we have planned to go there in the very, very near future,” he said. “Even if they’re fundraising, it’s towards an IPO. We don’t expect them to IPO today, not when the market is like this. We need to see when the time is best for the company.”
