Global Yellow Pages invests in ShowNearby and COMPANEDIA

Strategic S$3.5mln investments aimed to grow GYP’s digital business eco-system.

Global Yellow Pages (GYP) Limited has entered into Investment Agreements (the Agreements) with the location-based service provider ShowNearby Pte Ltd (ShowNearbyTM) and COMPANEDIA Pte Ltd. (COMPANEDIA), a web agency for local SMEs, according to a GYP announcement.

Under the Agreements, GYP will invest a sum of S$3.5 million for a 53.13% interest in ShowNearbyTM and an 80% interest in COMPANEDIA. ShowNearbyTM and COMPANEDIA will become subsidiaries of the Group on completion of the transactions.

Mr Stanley Tan, Executive Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Group, said: “I am really excited to welcome ShowNearbyTM and COMPANEDIA to join our growing stable of businesses. These two new additions will complement our vision of growing the e-commerce business by building our digital eco-system and enabling us to expand our product offerings to enhance value for advertisers, businesses and consumers.”

ShowNearbyTM provides intuitive location-based services through its main product offerings, ShowNearby on the Web, ShowNearby on Mobile and ShowNearby Analytics, for consumers and businesses.

ShowNearby™ on the Web allows consumers to locate nearby amenities, identify points-of-interest and accessibility information while ShowNearby on Mobile allows consumers to do the same on their smart phone devices. ShowNearby Analytics provides a platform for business owners to evaluate both complementary and competing businesses in the vicinity while allowing home buyers to find home locations.

Mr Douglas Gan, Founder and CEO of ShowNearby said: “Our mission is to answer this simple question “What’s Nearby?”. It has always been our aim to organise location-based information in a way that is always relevant and easily accessible to consumers. GYP’s comprehensive database will therefore provide a boost for ShowNearby’sTM offerings. Furthermore, with Android expected to be the second most used smart phone operating system globally by 2013, as well as our plans to incorporate ShowNearbyTM on other mobile phone platforms, we are confident that ShowNearby will eventually be an impactful utility for businesses and consumers alike.”

GYP’s stake in COMPANEDIA is also in line with its strategy as a predominant partner for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), which form its core clientele. COMPANEDIA will provide SMEs with a full suite of customised IT services, including graphic design, web design, development and hosting, internet marketing and maintenance, enhancing the services GYP currently offers.

Mr Stephen Williams, GYP’s Director, Digital Business Development said: “With internet usage rapidly increasing in Singapore, it is important for local SMEs to be plugged into the internet space. GYP and COMPANEDIA have the same vision of enhancing value for businesses and consumers. By synergising the entire process, COMPANEDIA will contribute to GYP’s vision of a multi-platform business with multi-faceted products and services.”

Added Mr Tan: “We are pleased to secure these two strategic acquisitions, coming shortly after our investment in Qpay Asia Pte Ltd in June 2010. Through its proprietary technology, Qpay Asia will offer an innovative platform for secure mobile transactions which are able to support an extensive range of in-house and third-party applications. Together, these investments will provide synergy to GYP’s existing businesses and spearhead the Group’s efforts toward a comprehensive digital ecosystem.”