Zilingo Liquidation Shakes Investors – Inside the Crisis of the Singapore-based Startup

SINGAPORE — Bloomberg announced in a Jan 20 (Friday) report that fashion startup Zilingo Pet is about to enter liquidation. The Singapore-based company was backed by several high-profile investors, including Temasek Holdings, a global investment company owned by the government of Singapore.

“Zilingo had been one of the highest-profile startups to emerge from Singapore. Major state investor Temasek Holdings Pte expressed concern the meltdown was tainting its reputation and urged the company to fix the situation. Other prominent investors included Sequoia Capital India, the regional arm of the Silicon Valley firm that backed Apple Inc. and Google,” Bloomberg reported.

Temasek had also invested in crypto exchange company FTX, which filed for bankruptcy in November last year.

Singapore's Zilingo is set to enter liquidation, a stunning demise for the once high-flying fashion startup https://t.co/1iYIb1kJ4R

— Bloomberg (@business) January 20, 2023

Sources told Bloomberg that Zilingo’s major shareholders and creditors have been informed of its decision to liquidate. Zilingo’s board appointed EY Corporate Services to be its provisional liquidator, Bloomberg added.

The crisis at Zilingo began to make the news last year after the company’s high-profile chief executive officer, Ms Ankiti Bose, 31, was suspended over complaints about alleged financial irregularities. Ms Bose, who denied wrongdoing, was fired in May 2022, and around the same time, over 100 employees had resigned.

Moreover, creditors came knocking to recall loans.

Bloomberg said in its Jan 20 report that Varde Partners and Indies Capital Partners, who are Zilingo’s creditors, are reported to have found buyers for some of the company assets, adding that these assets have already been transferred to the new owner for an undisclosed purchase price.

Netizens commenting online on the news about Zilingo’s liquidation have expressed concern.