S'pore-based start-up sold for rumoured S$255m

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In what is said to be the biggest acquisition deal of a Singapore-based start-up, Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has inked an agreement to buy video-streaming site Viki for a rumoured US$200 million (S$255 million).

The free video site, which has about 22.9 million users monthly, operates on an advertising-supported, crowd-sourcing model where subtitles to streamed television shows and movies are added by users in the same collaborative manner as Wikipedia.

Viki Chief Executive Officer Razmig Hovaghimian, 38, was tightlipped on the size of the deal, only saying it was confidential. Analysts said the US$200 million figure was about right, based on the number of users and the nature of its offerings.

"This (the deal) really proves you don’t have to be in Silicon Valley to build a world-class team. I can, and did, hire a good team here. I also loved the fact that the government was very supportive (of start-ups) and it was close to Asian countries, a strong growth market," said Mr Hovaghimian.

He met many of his engineers and staff at Hackerspace, a physical space in Bussorah Street here where white-hat hackers - who specialise in non-malicious hacking, usually to detect system flaws - meet to network or work on projects.

The deal could give Rakuten, traditionally an e-commerce provider, a deeper foothold in the digital content market, which it wants to gain ground in.