Migme

migme Limited (formerly mig33) was a global digital media company focused on emerging markets. The company was registered in Australia and was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:MIG) from 11 August 2014 to 22 August 2017.There is also a secondary listing on the Deutsche Borse (WKN: A117AB). The company was formed in Perth, Australia in 2006 and commenced operations under the name mig33. In 2014, it was rebranded migme (and underwent a product and corporate overhaul). FIH Mobile, a handset unit of Taiwanese consumer electronics group Hon Hai Precision, took a 19.9% stake in the company in 2014. Originally developed as a social chatting and gaming application for feature phones, migme has grown to become a mobile entertainment platform that services Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The company headquarters are in Singapore with offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Manila, and Australia. The company delivers social entertainment services through portfolio brands migme, LoveByte, alivenotdead and Sold.

migme

Formerly	mig33
Former type	Public
Industry	Internet
Founded	2005 (2005) (as mig33) in Australia
Founders	Steven Goh,[1] Mei Lin Ng[2]
Defunct	November 26, 2017 (2017-11-26)
Headquarters	Singapore[3]
Area served	Global
Services	Chat, blog, games, stickers, virtual gifts etc.
Revenue	$12.09m[4]
Owner	migme Limited
Number of employees	13
Subsidiaries	LoveByte, alivenotdead and Sold.sg
Migme
Type of site	Social entertainment platform, mobile digital, Social networking service, microblogging
Available in	Multilingual (2 languages - English and Indonesian)
URL	mig.me
Alexa rank	181,960 (August 2017)[5]
Registration	Required Sign Up
Users	33+ million Monthly Active Users & 3000+ Artists[6]
Launched	December 2005 (2005-12)
Current status	Shutdown since 26 October 2017
Written in	JavaScript, PHP, C++ and Python
Website	mig.me

In the time of 12 months, migme's market capitalisation fell from $242.5 million to just $27.2 million by the end of 2016. Migme shares have been suspended from trade since February 2017 and were of worth flows 4.4 cent each.[7] The site and app service went offine since August 7, 2017. migme got suspended from Australian Securities Exchange on 22 August 2017 because of being unable to pay the annual listing fees.[8]

History

mig33 was founded by Steven Goh and Mei Lin Ng in Perth, Australia in 2006. In 2007, it shifted operations to Silicon Valley where it focused on developing its engineering and technology capabilities and secured new venture capital. During this time, it acquired significant users in emerging markets of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.[9]

In 2012, it shifted its headquarters in Singapore to be closer to ghg Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Nepal, India and Bangladesh.[10]

The firm develops applications for Android, WAP, BlackBerry and web platforms. It has also released applications on legacy J2ME-based devices. The product was developed using open-source systems, and features group chat, social gaming and blogging functions as well as virtual gifting.[11][12] Its revamped microblogging service, launched in 2013, enables users to post up to 300 characters.[11]

Rebrand, investment and listing

On June 10, 2014, the company changed its name to migme Limited, and acquired alivenotdead.com, a Hong Kong-based artist community website co-founded by Patrick Lee, former chief executive of film review site rottentomatoes.com.[9] Also in 2014, the firm completed a merger with Latin Gold Ltd., an Australian-listed mining company, which enabled migme to list on the Australian Stock Exchange by way of a reverse takeover, effective August 11, 2014.[9][11] In 2014, FIH Mobile (a Foxconn-linked handset company) became the migme's largest shareholder through a $9.6 million investment, giving it a 19.9% stake in the company.

On October 2014, the company acquired LoveByte, a mobile app enabling couples to communicate, share thoughts and remember precious moments.[13] LoveByte is headquartered in Singapore.

In January 2015, migme enters e-Commerce with acquisition of Sold.sg.[14] Sold is an online pay-to-bid auction house and e-commerce business where customers can bid and buy quality products at competitive prices. Sold operates in Singapore and Malaysia.

Migme currently operates offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila, and Taipei.

On April 20, 2017 Solaris Power Cells, Inc. announces that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire Migme. However this deal didn't helped migme to increase the sales but they dipped more into loss of $23.1 Million loss after tax cuts.[15] There were a number of cuts in the year due to the loss, They broke off the deal with Solaris on August 10, 2017 with a press brief with Reuters.[16]

Shutdown

The mobile app has been offline since early 2018. There, however, is no official statement on the specific reason about this unexpected situation yet.

References

1. "migme co-founder".
2. "migme Co-founder".
3. "mig33 moves to Singapore".
4. "migme Ltd MIG ASX". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
5. "Mig.me Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
6. "QUARTERLY OPERATIONS UPDATE 31 January 2017".
7. "migme confirms sale to US business".
8. "Suspension from Official Quotation - Annual Listing Fees".
9. "Mig33 acquires Alivenotdead, a site started by Rotten Tomatoes founders". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
10. "Offices". mig,me. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
11. "Asian mobile chat startup Mig33 raises $2.2M, rebrands as MigMe". VentureBeat.com. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
12. "Social Entertainment Platform". mig,me. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
13. "Singapore's Migme buys LoveByte, enters apps for couples space". techinasia. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
14. "migme acquires online entertainment shopping site Sold.sg". e27. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
15. "migme sale scrapped". Business News. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
16. "BRIEF-Migme Ltd updates on agreement with Solaris Power Cells". Reuters. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-17.

External links

• Official website