Naspers Steps up Investment in Avito
October 23 2015 - 2:02AM
Business Wire
Increased shareholding in leading Russian
online classifieds platform
South African-based global internet and media company,
Naspers Limited (JSE: NPN.SJ and LSE: NPSN), today announced
a US$1.2bn transaction to become the largest shareholder in Avito,
the leading online classifieds platform in Russia. Naspers is
buying shares from existing shareholders to increase its stake from
17.4% to 67.9% on a fully diluted basis.
Naspers initially invested in Avito, Russia’s largest generalist
classifieds platform, in 2013. Since then the company 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. With around 35m unique
monthly visitors and 8.6bn monthly page views, Avito is one of the
top ten websites by traffic in Russia today. For FY2014 the company
reported revenues of US$76.5m (up 76% YoY) and an EBITDA margin of
50.6%.
For Naspers, the transaction further strengthens its position as
global leader in online classifieds and is a continued commitment
to a very attractive business. Bob van Dijk, Naspers CEO said: “As
an early investor, we are excited about the long-term prospects of
Avito. The Russian ecommerce market is expected to grow
significantly, with more people gaining online access. Over time,
ecommerce ratios should move in line with other large countries”.
Martin Scheepbouwer, CEO of Naspers Classifieds added: “This
transaction will increase our exposure to the large-scale and
attractive Russian online market, to the clear market leader in
online classifieds and to a talented management team”. More than
50% of Avito’s traffic is now coming from mobile devices, compared
to 32% at the beginning of 2014.
Avito’s management will remain invested. “Naspers has an
impressive track record and we like their approach to business.
Naspers is well known for trusting and supporting the management
teams of the companies they invest in. We believe this deal is
mutually beneficial, and, from our perspective, we welcome
Naspers’s very long-term view on Russia and especially on Avito”,
says Filip Engelbert, CEO and co-founder of Avito.
The transaction is subject to approval by anti-trust authorities
and by the South African Reserve Bank. While the acquisition may
initially be funded from Naspers’s existing cash resources and debt
facilities, the group is currently evaluating suitable long-term
funding alternatives and does not envisage that this transaction
will materially increase its existing debt profile in the medium
term.
About Naspers:
Founded in 1915, Naspers is a broad-based multinational internet
and media group offering services in more than 130 countries. Its
principal operations are in ecommerce (i.e. classifieds, online
retail, marketplaces, online comparison shopping, payments and
online services), video-entertainment and print media. The group
also has minority investments in listed, integrated social-network
platforms Tencent (SEHK 0700) and Mail.ru (LSE: MAIL). Naspers is
listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (NPN.SJ) and has an ADR
listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: NPSN).
For more information, please visit www.naspers.com.
About Avito:
Avito is the largest classifieds site in Russia and one of the
top-three classifieds sites in the world. More than 35m unique
monthly users visit www.avito.ru through desktop and mobile
devices. More than 50% of Avito’s traffic is now coming from
mobile. Avito’s users post more than 500 000 new ads daily, with
the overall number of active listings being over 32m.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151022006771/en/
Naspers LimitedMeloy Horn, +27 11 289 3320Head of
Investor Relationsmeloy.horn@naspers.com
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