JSE-listed publishing company Naspers has bought 91% of Brazilian e-commerce group BuscaPe.com, for $342 million.
The BuscaPe group has its headquarters in Sao Paulo and is Latin America's top network for new and used goods, and one of the region's best-known Internet brands.
It is the exclusive provider of comparison shopping solutions to more than 100 portals and Web sites in the region, including Microsoft, Globo and Abril, with over 10 million products and more than 320 000 online and offline stores.
Antonie Roux, head of Internet at Naspers, says: “BuscaPe gives us a fast-growing business in line with our e-commerce focus. It's a diversified Internet platform: a whole spectrum of business models within the e-commerce value chain across core Latin American markets.”
Latin America is of particular interest to the group as the region is home to about 550 million people. Rising disposable incomes, consumers with little debt and a low-penetration Internet market were the reasons Naspers decided to invest in the region.
Over the past two decades, the publisher has evolved from a traditional print media business in one country, to a broad-based e-media company in multiple markets. Its principal operations are in Internet platforms, pay-television and print media.
Its most significant operations are in SA and sub-Saharan Africa, China, Russia, Eastern Europe, the Netherlands, India, Brazil and Thailand.
Hein Brand, CEO of Naspers' operations in Latin America, says: “After investments in Abril and Compera nTime, Naspers has developed a good understanding of the fast-growing Brazilian market. BuscaPe is one of the few established players in the industry, and can grow further.”
BuscaPe CEO Romero Rodrigues says: “Naspers' extensive experience in the Internet can help us grow to the next level.”
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