Alibaba Group Holding Limited made a controlling investment of approx. $1 billion in Lazada Group S.A., a Southeast Asian online retailer.
The deal, which brought Lazada’ equity valuation of Lazada to $1.5 billion, includes a US$500m newly issued share investment and the acquisition of shares from existing investors. In conjunction with the investment, Rocket Internet sold a 9.1% stake in Lazada for $137m, retaining an 8.8% stake after the transaction. For the Berlin-based accelerator, the valuation of its stake represents an approximately 15x multiple of the invested capital of €18m.
Founded in 2012 and led by Maximilian Bittner, CEO, Lazada is an eCommerce platform for local and international sellers and brands to consumers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore Thailand and Vietnam.
Lazada provides customers with a mobile and web a shopping experience featuring an extensive product offering in categories ranging from consumer electronics to household goods and fashion, multiple payment methods including cash-on-delivery, customer care and free returns. Retailers have with direct access to approximately 550 million consumers in six countries through one retail channel.
The investment will allow Alibaba to expand in South East Asia.
FinSMEs
13/04/2016