We don’t often see companies announce funding rounds on the weekend, but that’s not stopping Lazada, the Rocket Internet-backed e-commerce firm in Southeast Asia, from revealing today that it has pulled in €200 million (around $250 million) in fresh capital. The round is lead by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, which manages a $100-billion-plus portfolio and this year invested in another Amazon rival: Snapdeal in India. The deal includes participation from a number of existing Lazada investors, including Kinnevik, Verlinvest and Rocket Internet, and it values the company at €1 billion ($1.25 billion).
The Amazon of Southeast Asia, Lazada, has raised a whopping €200 million (about $250 million USD) to secure its position as a dominant force in ecommerce for the region, the company announced today. Lazada was founded by German incubator firm Rocket Internet, and claims to be Southeast Asia’s “largest online shopping mall,” which basically means it’s very similar to online retailer Amazon in a market that’s growing like crazy. It’s known for selling electronics, apparel, cosmetics, books, and more to customers in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and other countries in the area. And similar to Amazon, it also offers free shipping on many items, free returns (within 14 days), and more. The new funding was led by Singapore investment company Temasek, with participation from Rocket Internet. The move lowers Rocket Internet’s stake in Lazada to 23.8 percent from 26.7 percent, as Reuters points out. This isn’t the first big funding round that Lazada has raised, either. Last year the company picked up a $250 million investment led by Tesco, as VentureBeat previously reported.