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Naspers is betting big on online classifieds market
Naspers is sitting on a hefty cash-pile — and using it to build strong positions in niche segments of the internet is probably a smart move
Naspers’s latest deal shows the group is betting big on the online classifieds market. The cash-flush internet company said over the weekend it was investing another $1.2bn (R15.9bn) in Avito, thus taking its stake in the Russian online classifieds and property platform from 70.4% to 99.6%. The platform is clearly still in growth mode: In the first half of financial year 2019, Avito’s revenues increased by 31% to $162m. After trimming its stake in Tencent and selling its investment in India’s Flipkart to Walmart, Naspers is sitting on a hefty cash-pile, and the classifieds segment is evidently a priority. In September 2018, it invested R1.4bn in Webuycars, a South African vehicle-purchasing service. The group’s other classifieds businesses include Autotrader, Dubizzle, Letgo, and OLX. Bloomberg reported on Sunday that Naspers would consolidate its different local platforms into a single, global one. Vestact said in a note to clients on Monday that just like Uber and Airbnb, “an onli...
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