Thai food delivery app “Lineman Wongnai” considers IPO in Thailand and US in 2025

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 Chinspakul told TechCrunch. said in an exclusive interview.

Lineman Wonnai Chinspakul said the company has not yet finalized the location of its IPO, but 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.

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. Merged with Wongnai in 2020. lineman, which offers food and grocery delivery, on-demand rides, and messenger apps.Then, in 2023, the company Rabbit Line Pay (RLP)online and offline payment platforms, and food story, a Thai point of sale (POS) startup. The company said the acquisition strengthened its earnings and expanded its customer base.

The merger with Line Man was an important milestone for Wongnai. LINE is the most popular messaging app in Thailand The app is used by more than 90% of Thais and has more than 50 million users in the country, Chinspakul said. 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%. According to a study, as of April 2023, Shopee ranks third, followed by Siam Commercial Bank (SCB)’s Robinhood. Report by Statista.

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%. 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 , user penetration in the ride-hailing app market is expected to reach 19.8% this year. Statista.

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.