Naspers to Sell Allegro Group to Cinven, Permira and Mid Europa
October 14 2016 - 9:43AM
Business Wire
South Africa-based global internet and entertainment group,
Naspers Limited (JSE: NPN.SJ and LSE: NPSN) today announced
the disposal of a 100% stake in Poland-based Allegro Group, which
includes both Allegro.pl and Ceneo.pl, to funds advised by private
equity firms Cinven, Permira and Mid Europa for US$3.253bn.
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Poznan, Allegro is the most
popular online shopping destination in Poland with more than 20
million registered users. Allegro provides an online marketplace
for companies and private sellers to sell their products to
consumers, resulting in total sales of more than 850 thousand items
a day. The company employs 1,275 people across five offices in
Poznań, Warszawa, Toruń, Wrocław and Kraków. Based in Wrocław,
Ceneo.pl is the most popular online comparison shopping business in
Poland.
Bob van Dijk, CEO of Naspers said: “Allegro is a business that
we invested in during 2008, and since then we have built it into a
respected and successful commerce brand in Poland. Its ability to
grow while adapting to a changing market environment has ensured
its success and it’s a business that continues to perform. We are
extremely proud of Allegro’s team and success, and we are delighted
that Cinven, Permira and Mid Europa will lead its next chapter. Our
decision to sell Allegro is consistent with our strategy to find
and realise value for our shareholders.”
David Barker, Partner at Cinven, said: “Allegro is a great
business. It is a clear market leader and extremely well positioned
to benefit from structural e-commerce drivers with a strong
technology platform and strong reputation with its users. We are
very excited to be working with management to drive the business
growth and we are looking forward to be working alongside Permira
and Mid Europa.”
Richard Sanders, Partner at Permira, commented: “The Permira
Funds have been backing internet leaders for many years. In Allegro
we have found a real gem which is the pre-eminent consumer and
merchant internet brand in Poland. The business has a fantastic
underlying technology platform and we look forward to backing the
management team to develop it further. We believe Allegro is
ideally positioned to capture the next wave of growth in online and
mobile commerce.”
Pawel Padusinski, Partner at Mid Europa, added: “We recognise
the strong organic growth opportunities available in the Polish
e-commerce and retail sectors. Our investment in Allegro is
consistent with our strategy of supporting leading market players
with impressive track records in the CEE region. We are
enthusiastic about working closely with the management team and our
partners from Cinven and Permira in supporting Allegro’s further
growth.”
The transaction is subject to antitrust clearance. Until then,
it is business as usual at Allegro and the team remains focused on
delivering the best ecommerce experience to its customers.
Naspers was advised by Morgan Stanley (financial advisor), Allen
& Overy (legal) and Deloitte (accounting and tax), while
Cinven, Permira and Mid Europa consortium was advised by Goldman
Sachs International (lead financial advisor), Macquarie Capital
(financial), Clifford Chance (legal), McKinsey (commercial) and EY
(accounting and tax).
--Ends--
About Naspers:
Founded in 1915, Naspers is a global internet and entertainment
group and one of the largest technology investors in the world.
Operating in more than 130 countries and markets with long-term
growth potential, Naspers builds leading companies that empower
people and enrich communities. It runs some of the world’s leading
platforms in internet, video entertainment, and media.
Naspers companies connect people to each other and the wider
world, help people improve their daily lives, and entertain
audiences with the best of local and global content. Every day,
millions of people use the products and services of companies that
Naspers has invested in, acquired or built, including Allegro,
Avito, Brainly, Codecademy, eMAG, Flipkart, letgo, Media24, Movile,
MultiChoice, OLX, PayU, ShowMax, SimilarWeb, Twiggle, and Udemy.
Similarly, hundreds of millions of people have made the platforms
of its associates Tencent (www.tencent.com; SEHK 00700) and Mail.ru
(www.corp.mail.ru; LSE: MAIL) a part of their daily lives.
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
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161014005482/en/
Naspers LimitedMeloy Horn, +27-11-289-3320Head of
Investor Relationsmeloy.horn@naspers.com
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