South Korean e-commerce platform TMON has received commitments worth 305 billion won ($276 million) from investors, while the Australian online design platform and unicorn Canva has acquired two European companies in a bid to grow its global influence.
Korea’s TMON closes $276m pre-IPO round
South Korean e-commerce platform TMON has received commitments worth 305 billion won ($276 million), according to local media reports.
TMON, short for Ticket Monster, received 255 billion won in fresh funding from a consortium led by Seoul-based private equity firm PS Alliance, allowing it to get back on track for an IPO on the local stock exchange in the second half of the year.
The consortium is investing through the purchase of bonds convertible into TMON shares to be issued by KKR and Anchor Equity Partners.
Meanwhile, KKR and Anchor Equity have together injected an additional 50 billion won into TMON.
The new capital will be used to cover the company’s capital shortfall.
PS Alliance is a private equity fund manager owned by South Korean automotive and electronic components manufacturer Poongsung Group.
TMON was founded in 2010 and is one of the leading e-commerce companies in Korea. In 2015, private equity investor Anchor Equity Partners and global investment firm KKR acquired a controlling stake in Ticket Monster Inc. from Groupon.
Australian unicorn Canva buys two companies
Australian online design platform and unicorn Canva has acquired two European companies in a bid to grow its global influence.
Canva took full control of Kaleido.ai, the Austrian visual AI startup behind the eponymous popular design tool that instantly removes background from a photo or video.
Canva also purchased Smartmockups in the Czech Republic, which provides mockups for T-shirts, mugs, and other items for e-commerce entrepreneurs.
Canva is known globally as the go-to tool for crafting customisable graphic designs for a range of uses from business logos to street event posters. The company said, as of 2020, it has more than 30 million monthly active users across 190 countries. Since its launch in 2013, a total of over 3 billion designs have been created using its platform.
Last year, Canva raised $60 million in a funding round co-anchored by Blackbird Ventures and Sequoia Capital China that valued the company at $6 billion.
To date, it has acquired a total of six companies, including image providers Pexels and Pixabay.
