South African online vehicle marketplace, AutoTrader, is now officially part of Naspers owned OLX Group. The Competition Tribunal today approved the merger of the two online classified players, with conditions.
The Competition Commission had recommended to the Tribunal that the merger be approved without conditions but the Tribunal opted to approve the merger with a public interest condition that the merging parties not retrench anyone for a period of two years from the approval date.
"Based on what we see in other markets around the world, the pace of innovation in the vehicle buying and selling space is picking up and global consumer facing technology platforms are entering" says Sjoerd Nikkelen, OLX Group's GM for Africa, Middle East and Asia.
"This partnership will give us the scale to lead this coming wave of innovation and disruption in South Africa, in which deep data skills will allow for our propositions to dealers and consumers alike to become fundamentally more valuable and of higher convenience."
AutoTrader will remain a separate brand, but now forms part of a global group with four technology hubs and a strong drive to develop vertical platforms.
"Our customers can stand to benefit substantially from investment in product innovation as a result" says AutoTrader CEO, George Mienie
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