The Singapore-based relocation service Moovaz on Monday announced that it agreed to acquire the van-hailing platform GetVan, whose founder James Neo will join the company.
“I am excited to scale GetVan’s robust technology and partner onboarding capabilities to further our ambition as a leader in global relocation,” said Moovaz co-founder and CEO Junxian Lee in a statement.
Lee further told KrASIA that the conversation with GetVan had been going on for eight months before the deal was sealed, remarking that GetVan has strong organic growth that will help Moovaz. He described the deal as a “supply acquisition” that contributes to the expansion of Moovaz’s existing supply chain.
GetVan’s Neo formerly worked for Indonesia’s decacorn Gojek as head of driver acquisitions and market insights. “He’s familiar with the supply side of the equation,” Lee said. “He can help boost the morale and take care of our partners.”
Founded in 2016, Singapore-based GetVan offers intra-city logistic services for businesses and individuals. Moovaz has built an interactive marketplace powered by machine intelligence to refresh the traditionally slow, expensive, and opaque processes involving multiple intermediaries in the relocation industry. The company now has a global network of more than 2,000 partners that are certified moving providers.
In June, Moovaz acquired expat-focused publication The Finder from Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) to tap into the magazine’s strong community. Lee said at the time that Moovaz is working on a series of acquisitions as pandemic drives more companies to strengthen their business through consolidation.
In today’s interview, Lee alluded to another acquisition Moovaz is currently pursuing. Although he is reluctant to share details, he said that while The Finder serves the “content acquisition” and GetVan the “supply acquisition,” the new one will be “middle acquisition,” helping to improve Moovaz’s existing tech infrastructure.