Groupon sells Singaporean business as global presence dwindles

Former daily deals giant Groupon is continuing its great global slimming-down program with the news that it’s selling its Singapore business to Fave, an online-to-offline (O2O) ecommerce company operating in Southeast Asia.

Fave Group, formerly KFit Group, initially launched in April 2015 as a platform for finding fitness classes but has since grown to cover food and restaurants, wellness, lifestyle, and more.

Today’s news comes hot on the heels of a number of divestments and closures from the Chicago-based technology company. Back in August 2015, Groupon ceded control of its Indian division to Sequoia India, the local arm of the renowned Californian VC firm, which then helped relaunch it as Nearbuy. And last year Fave acquired both the Indonesian and Malaysian Groupon divisions, with the deals taking place just a few months apart.

Elsewhere, in late 2015 Groupon shuttered its Nordic divisions, shortly after closing in Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Thailand, and Uruguay. And last May, Groupon offloaded its Breadcrumb point-of-sale (POS) business to restaurant technology startup Upserve — not for cash, but for a stake in Upserve’s business.

Moving forward, Groupon Singapore will be integrated into Fave, much as the Indonesian and Malaysian businesses were.

“Fave has already proven its ability to grow the O2O market in Indonesia and Malaysia, and we believe that the team will be able to capitalize on Groupon Singapore’s strengths and market-leading position to do the same in Singapore,” said Julie Szudarek, president of Groupon International, in a press release.

Though Groupon has been embarking on a heavy restructuring mission globally, it bolstered its domestic arsenal six months ago when it bought former arch-rival LivingSocial, a company once worth around $6 billion.

As Groupon has shifted away from its daily-deals roots, it has focused on becoming more of an online marketplace that connects local merchants with consumers. But that doesn’t seem to have done much to boost the company’s market value — after a $26 peak back in 2011, Groupon’s shares have hovered around the $2 to $4 mark since 2015.