Thai on-demand food delivery service Line Man Wongnai is considering an initial public offering on a Thai exchange or the U.S. in 2025, CEO and co-founder Yod Chinsupakul told TechCrunch. said in an exclusive interview.
Lineman Wongnai has not yet made a final decision on where to hold its IPO, but Chinsupakul said it is not considering a dual listing in Thailand and the United States.
The company is backed by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC. Z Holdings is a joint venture established by SoftBank and South Korean internet company Naver. BRV Asia etc. The company has raised a total of more than $372 million and is valued at more than $1 billion.
“We are focused on business continuity and restructuring as key priorities ahead of a potential IPO and will continue to evaluate our capital structure and financing needs, including various financing options,” Chinspakul said. said.
Image credit: Line Man Wonnai
Chinspakul said the company's differentiators are its strategic partnership with LINE and its understanding of customer behavior, local merchants, delivery personnel and the regulatory environment.
Wongnai started in 2010 as a restaurant review platform. In 2020, it merged with Line Man, a food and grocery delivery, on-demand ride service, and messenger app. And in 2023, the company acquired online and offline payment platform Rabbit Line Pay (RLP) and Thai point-of-sale (POS) startup FoodStory. The company said the acquisition strengthened its earnings and expanded its customer base.
The merger with Line Man is important for Wonnai as Line is Thailand's most popular messaging app, used by over 90% of Thais, and the app has over 50 million domestic users. Chinspakul said it was a significant milestone. According to the CEO, what sets the startup apart from its competitors is its ability to tap into LINE's vast user base, with many of the app's users choosing to make payments through the linked LINE payment app. It is said that there is
Today, the company offers everything from food and grocery delivery and restaurant reviews to payment platforms, point-of-sale for merchants, and ride-hailing services to compete against competitors such as Grab in the country.
“Our history has proven that we are agile and capable of executing strategic M&A. We are constantly evaluating potential investment opportunities in pursuit of our strategic objectives. This could include potential investments and M&A if it supports our long-term goals. We are very open to it,” Chinspakul said.
The CEO stated that the company is keen to expand its POS business and payment services for merchants.
“The other two businesses are relatively small compared to our food delivery business.” [as we are a latecomer]Therefore, we want to grow them many times over,” Chinspakul said. He added that the company will continue to invest in growing its technology team, particularly on the data and AI fronts.
Lineman Wong Nai faces stiff competition in Thailand's food delivery space from Singapore's Grab and Indonesia's GoTo, which have their own super apps and also offer e-commerce services.
Currently, GrabFood leads the food delivery market in Thailand with a significant market share of 56%, closely followed by Line Man Wongnai with 53%. As of April 2023, Shopee ranks third, followed by Siam Commercial Bank (SBC)'s Robinhood, according to a Statista report.
Room for growth in Thailand
Chinspakul pointed out that the penetration rate of online food and grocery delivery is low in Thailand, and there is plenty of room for growth. As of February 2024, the penetration rate of online food delivery in Thailand was 27.14%, and the penetration rate of grocery delivery was 17.34%.
Regarding ride-hailing services, Chinspakul said Thai people still use on-demand taxi services via apps, but the online-only market could grow even larger. According to Statista, user penetration in the ride-hailing app market is expected to reach 19.8% this year.
When asked if the company is aiming to become a super app like Grab or GoTo, Chinspakul said Lineman Wonnai is aiming even higher. “The super app is only aimed at the consumer side, but Lineman Wong Nai's service is aimed at both consumers and merchants. We like his Meituan and his WeChat Pay combined. It’s something.”
The company currently wants to focus on the Thai market and has no plans to expand into other Southeast Asian countries before going public.