<article>Ecommerce firms <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.pricepanda.com">PricePanda</a> of Germany and Australia&#8217;s <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.getprice.com.au">Getprice</a> announced a merger on Thursday and are set to create a new price comparison shopping network across Asia Pacific.</article>

Ecommerce firms <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.pricepanda.com">PricePanda</a> of Germany and Australia&#8217;s <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.getprice.com.au">Getprice</a> announced a merger on Thursday and are set to create a new price comparison shopping network across Asia Pacific.
The companies likewise announced that shareholders have reinvested in the business as part of the transaction.
To achieve their goal, the two companies will operate under the <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.nextcommerce.com.au">Next Commerce</a> banner, leveraging on Getprice’s 10-year-old technology platform and PricePanda’s operational expertise in emerging markets. Next Commerce is a distributed commerce platform based in Australia.
The strategy is expected to propel the growth of the online price shopping comparison business in the Australian market, as well as expansion efforts in South East Asia and other emerging markets.
Together, PricePanda and GetPrice websites now cover nine countries across Asia Pacific, with over four million unique visitors each month.
Philip Wegener, managing director of PricePanda, said they are convinced of the strategic benefits of the alliance, forming a strong market leader with an impressive track record both in technology and operations.
&#8220;Given the tremendous opportunities in the large and rapidly growing Asia Pacific market, we are excited to capitalise on the combined expertise that will enable us to pursue new initiatives in mobile, media,and launching new products and services in the region,&#8221; Wegner said.
Although PricePanda and Getprice will operate under the umbrella of Next Commerce, they will continue to serve as standalone brands in their respective markets.
Getprice co-founder Jared Oken will be the new CEO of Next Commerce, while Chris Hitchen, also an original Getprice co-founder will chair the board of directors that will include, Oliver Samwer from <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=rocket+internet">Rocket Internet</a>.
Oken said they will focus together on extending their lead in the Australian market as well as rapid growth in South East Asia and other emerging markets, including significant investment in scaling operations team in Manila, Philippines and regional sales team.
&#8220;This merger with PricePanda lifts the growth potential of both our businesses to a completely new level,&#8221; Oken said. &#8220;I look forward to working together with an incredible team that is excited about growing and supporting e-commerce across the region.&#8221;
PricePanda’s existing shareholders have reinvested in the merged business to fund its further growth, namely Tengelmann Ventures, subsidiary of the German retail giant Tengelmann, the Swedish investment company Kinnevik and the Asia Pacific Internet Group, which is <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.rocket-internet.com">Rocket Internet&#8217;s</a> joint venture with <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.ooredoo.com">Ooredoo</a> – formerly Qatar Telecom – in South East Asia.
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Ecommerce firms PricePanda of Germany & Australia’s Getprice announced merger and are set to create new price comparison shopping network across Asia Pacific.

Ecommerce firms PricePanda, Getprice merge, to launch new network in APAC

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