Vietnam’s largest technology firm FPT Corporation has acquired a majority stake in enterprise software company Base.vn for an undisclosed amount.
Base.vn helps enterprises streamline management and operation activities such as hiring, payroll, task management, team collaboration and approval management.
Founded in 2016, Base.vn claims to have catered to 5,000 businesses across sectors such as banking, retail and transportation. The FPT investment is expected to help Base.vn reach a clientele of 800,000 users in the future. The companies did not reveal the timeline for that target.
As part of the transaction, FPT bought out all venture capital investors of Base.vn, according to a source privy to the development.
Eddie Thai, a partner at 500 Startups Vietnam, confirmed the early-stage investor’s exit from Base.vn.
In 2018, Base.vn had raised a $1.3 million funding round led by Indonesian venture capital firm Alpha JWC Ventures, with participation from BEENEXT, South Korean investor Nextrans and its seed round investors 500 Startups Vietnam and Vietnam Innovation Startup Accelerator.
“In the pre-digital transformation era, 50% of business went bankrupt after their first year. Digital transformation is inevitable and has always been in our sight. Base.vn is amongst the forerunners in helping SMEs digitise, so it’s natural for us to partner with the company,” FPT chairman Truong Gia Binh said in an announcement late on Tuesday.
The digital transformation of Vietnamese SMEs is expected to contribute as much as $30 billion to the country’s GDP by 2024 and will play a vital role in reviving the economy after COVID-19, according to Cisco research.
Following the transaction, Base.vn seeks to leverage FPT technologies in the areas of AI, blockchain, cloud, and digital signatures.
“Base.vn provides the answers to three key problems with businesses, including productivity management, information transparency and HR management. We will also develop on our platform other services such as financial management, customer management and business development,” said Base.vn founder and CEO Hung Pham.
Founded in 1988, FPT is Vietnam’s earliest and largest technology company. The company is listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange and has a market cap of $2.8 billion.
FPT provides a variety of tech solutions, from Internet bandwidth to data centre, software development and media. Outside its core business, the group has also expanded into education and financial investment.
In July 2018, FPT announced the acquisition of US-based technology consulting firm Intellinet for at least $30 million. In 2019, FPT made a strategic investment in US-based IoT devices provider Homa Techs Inc.
This article has been published in DealStreetAsia. Read the original article here.
