BEIJING, June 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 58.com Inc. (NYSE:
WUBA) ("58.com" or the "Company"), China's largest online market place for
classifieds, today announced that it has acquired a minority stake
in 5I5J HOLDING GROUP CO., LTD. (000560.SZ or
"5I5J"), a major secondary and rental brokerage company in
China. 58.com will pay
approximately RMB 1.068 billion in
cash for a minority stake of 8.28%.
Mr. Michael Jinbo Yao, Chairman
and CEO of 58.com, commented, "58.com and 5I5J's businesses are
very complimentary in nature. 58.com always strives to develop our
online platform to help our brokerage customers increase the
efficiency of their operations. Our positioning as an online
platform won't change. 5I5J has a highly professional leadership
team with a clear vision and a solid track record that has built
highly recognized nationwide brands such as '5I5J'
and 'XIANGYU' in the offline brokerage industry. The
secondary and rental markets have huge growth opportunities as we
expect more new homes to become secondary and rental home
transaction inventory in the future. Our investment in 5i5j.com
underpins a joint desire to bring substantial improvements in
market practices and industry efficiency in this growing market,
especially in areas such as automated housing listing interfaces,
listing quality improvement, and real estate SaaS development."
In addition to the investment in 5I5J, 58.com also announced
that it will launch an investment fund with potential funding from
both 58.com and other investors and partners, to explore similar
investment opportunities in the brokerage industry. With the launch
of this fund, 58.com aims to foster a better real estate eco-system
and continue to bring more value-add and better technology to its
industry partners.
About 58.com Inc.
58.com Inc. (NYSE: WUBA) operates China's largest online market place for
classifieds, as measured by monthly unique visitors on both its
www.58.com website and mobile applications. The Company's online
marketplace enables local business users and consumer users to
connect, share information and conduct business. 58.com's broad,
in-depth and high quality local information, combined with its
easy-to-use website and mobile applications, has made it a trusted
marketplace for consumers. 58.com's strong brand recognition, large
and growing user base, merchant network and massive database of
local information create a powerful network effect.
Safe Harbor Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements made
under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements can be identified by terminology such as "will,"
"expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes,"
"estimates," "confident" and similar statements. 58.com may also
make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports
filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases
and other written materials and in oral statements made by its
officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements
that are not historical facts, including statements about 58.com's
beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that
involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the
following: 58.com's goals and strategies; its future business
development, financial condition and results of operations; its
ability to retain and grow its user base and network of local
merchants for its online marketplace; the growth of, and trends in,
the markets for its services in China; the demand for and market acceptance of
its brand and services; competition in its industry in China; its ability to maintain the network
infrastructure necessary to operate its website and mobile
applications; relevant government policies and regulations relating
to the corporate structure, business and industry; and its ability
to protect its users' information and adequately address privacy
concerns. Further information regarding these and other risks,
uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information
provided in this press release is current as of the date of the
press release, and 58.com does not undertake any obligation to
update such information, except as required under applicable
law.
For more information, please contact:
58.com Inc.
ir@58.com
Christensen
In China
Mr. Christian Arnell
Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
E-mail: carnell@christensenir.com
In US
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: lbergkamp@ChristensenIR.com
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SOURCE 58.com Inc