Naspers has announced that it will be disposing of $201 million (R2.7 billion) of its holdings in two Czech-based Internet companies – Netretail and Heureka.<\/p>\n
According to the media giant, the transaction is part of an ongoing strategy to optimise its group structure.<\/p>\n
Naspers acquired Netretail (a Czech-based online retailer) and eMAG (the Romanian based internet retailer) in 2012, with a plan to merge the two assets and create a leading ecommerce platform across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).<\/p>\n
Diverging strategic views prevented the merger from being completed, the group said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Naspers subsequently decided to focus on eMag as its preferred etail platform in the region.<\/p>\n
As part of the transaction, Naspers is also selling Heureka, the group\u2019s online price comparison platform in the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n
Naspers\u2019 other businesses in the region are unaffected by this disposal, it said.<\/p>\n
The news follows Friday’s announcement that Naspers would invest US$1.2 billion (R16 billion) to become the largest shareholder in Avito, an online classifieds platform in Russia.<\/p>\n
Naspers is buying shares from existing shareholders to increase its stake from 17.4% to 67.9% on a fully diluted basis.<\/p>\n
Naspers initially invested in Avito, Russia\u2019s largest generalist classifieds platform, in 2013.<\/p>\n
It has since successfully expanded into classifieds verticals and is now also a leading player in five key verticals: General Goods, Auto, Real Estate (including Domofond), Jobs and Services.<\/p>\n
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