Update: Gaopeng to Merge with FTuan
China Business News, 6/21/12
An industry source divulged today that Chinese group buy site FTuan will merge with Gaopeng, the group buy joint venture of Groupon and Tencent (0700.HK), to form a new group company, with FTuan CEO Lin Ning to be named CEO.
Following the merger, Tencent's stake in the new company will grow to nearly 50%, while the shares of Gaopeng and its investors Groupon and the Yunfeng Fund will be diluted.
FTuan and Gaopeng will continue to exist as two separate brands following the merger, and will retain their current domain names. The sales teams for the two, however, will be combined.
At present, Gaopeng has average per-customer transactions of around RMB 150, while FTuan's range from RMB 80 to RMB 100. After the merger, Gaopeng will work mainly to develop the high-end market, with FTuan maintaining a focus on ordinary customers.
A source inside Gaopeng said that FTuan has been sending employees, including HR employees, to inspect Gaopeng's sales team, with Gaopeng employees who fail to meet FTuan's standards being laid off. In the new company structure, HR will be overseen mainly by FTuan.
Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see "Rumor: Gaopeng to Merge with FTuan," MD 4/10/12 issue.
Keywords: Internet Tencent 0700.HK Groupon Lin Ning Ftuan Yunfeng Fund Gaopeng group buying M&A
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