Naspers injects R960 million into Takealot to become majority shareholder
JSE-isted media and internet firm, Naspers, has injected an additional R960 million into online retailer, Takealot.
This follows earlier investments from both Tiger Global and Naspers in 2015.
Naspers acquired a 46.5% interest in Takealot in exchange for the contribution of its e-commerce business, Kalahari.com, and the issue of 612,977 Naspers N ordinary shares for R1.2 billion in 2015.
Takealot Online’s stable of businesses includes Takealot.com, general etailer, Superbalist.com, fashion etailer, Mr D Food, restaurant food delivery service, and Mr D Courier, its point to point courier service.
Takealot said it has filed a large merger notification with the South African Competition Commission in anticipation of finalising the investment from Naspers, which would make Naspers the majority shareholder in Takealot.
“We are excited about this latest investment as it will allow us to continue to grow the business in a market with huge potential,” said Takealot CEO Kim Reid.
Retail remains a highly competitive market in South Africa, and online retail accounts for less than 2% of the non-grocery retail market and less than 1% of the total retail market.
By comparison, online retail penetration is in the teens in the US and UK retail markets, and at 17% in China, according to Euromonitor.
Loading ...
