Naspers' classifieds business OLX Group is becoming a majority shareholder in Avito, the top online classifieds platform in Russia, in a deal worth R16.3 billion ($1.16 billion).
In a statement issued this evening, the South African-based global Internet company says the transaction increases OLX Group's stake from 70.4% to 99.6% on a fully diluted basis, with the remaining shares held by existing management.
"Avito is the leading online classifieds player in Russia and our decision to increase our stake reflects our belief in the long-term prospects of this great business and the Russian Internet market. This investment further strengthens our global position in online classifieds, a core focus for Naspers alongside online food delivery and fintech," says Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk.
Avito is Russia's largest generalist classifieds platform. Naspers initially invested in the company in March 2013 after merging its Slando.ru and OLX.ru platforms. It is one of the top 10 Web sites by traffic in Russia, with 10.3 million daily unique visitors.
According to Naspers, over the last five years, Avito has established leading positions in five key categories, namely goods, autos, real estate, jobs and services.
Furthermore, the business continues to experience strong growth and generate robust profit margins, notes the statement.
"Avito's talented management team, led by CEO Vladimir Pravdivy, has demonstrated the capacity to achieve remarkable growth consistently over time," adds Martin Scheepbouwer, CEO of the OLX Group. "Business performance is excellent and we look forward to continuing this trend by further leveraging the technology, knowledge and experience from Avito within OLX Group and vice versa."
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