55Tuan + Ganji: Group Buying Clean-Up Acclerates 窝窝团携手赶集网：团购洗牌加速

By newsdoug on April 12, 2012

Ganji races into 55tuan tie-up Just a day after writing about a rumored merger between 2 mid-sized group buying sites, we’re getting even bigger news that the long-awaited consolidation in the overcrowded space is accelerating with word that 55tuan, one of the industry’s top players, is taking over operation of the group-buying business of a major player called Ganji. (Chinese article) The first tie-up that I wrote about yesterday has Gaopeng, the joint venture of US group buying giant Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN), reportedly in talks to merge with another mid-sized player called FTuan, in a deal that is probably being brokered by leading Internet firm Tencent (HKEx: 700), which is a shareholder in both companies. (previous post) This kind of consolidation, which will include both mergers and also a large number of closures, has been a long time coming, and 55tuan’s entry to the picture marks the first such M&A by one of the industry’s top 3 players. I predict we’ll see the industry’s other top 2 names, LaShou and Dianping, announce their own new tie-ups in the next 2-3 months, with LaShou likely to make the first announcement as it tries to create hype for its moribund New York IPO, which it originally filed for last year but later had to put on hold while it cleared up some accounting issues from the US securities regulator. (previous post) Let’s take a look at the latest news first, which has Ganji, a mid-tier group buying player, confirming it has formed a strategic partnership that will see it and 55tuan combine their group buying operations. Since 55tuan is clearly the bigger player and both companies are probably losing big money, I suspect this so-called “strategic agreement” will ultimately turn into an outright sale that will see 55tuan completely take over the Ganji group buying business for a modest fee of $100 million or less. 55tuan itself has said it wants to make its own overseas IPO, and reiterated as recently as last month that its listing plan is still on track for sometime later this year. (previous post) This tie-up with another mid-sized player like Ganji should help to generate some investor interest in 55tuan’s offering if and when it happens, and 55tuan is undoubtedly negotiating with other similar mid-sized players about more M&A even as it wraps up the Ganji deal. This new flurry of activity could be just the tonic the battered group buying space needs to generate some interest in this upcoming parade of planned IPOs, as investors will undoubtedly be excited at the prospect that the ultra-fierce competition that has gripped the market for the last year may soon come to an end and a handful of major companies with potential to be profitable will emerge. To that end, look for both more mergers and closures to come in the next few months, and perhaps for even some investor enthusiasm to emerge if and when 55tuan, LaShou, or another big group buying site manages to finally make a public offering.

Bottom line: The new merger between the group buying business of 55tuan and Ganji marks an acceleration of consolidation that could rekindle investor in the overheated space.

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