Singapore-based C2C marketplace Carousell joins other companies in the investment portfolio of South Africa’s Naspers.
Naspers’ OLX Group has invested $56m in Carousell in a deal that will see the company’s valuation rocket to US $550 million. Carousell will acquire OLX Phillipines to better serve Filipino community. The two will merge their operations within the next year.
OLX Phillipines is currently a large player in the region, boasting over 6 million unique users each month.
Under the deal, OLX Group also lays claim to a 10% stake in Carousell.
Current OLX Phillipines General Manager, Raffy Montemayor, will oversee Carousell’s operations in the market and lead customer transition to the new platform.
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Co-founder and CEO of Carousell, Quek Siu Rui said, “Naspers’ investment will enable us to accelerate the cementing of our leadership in Southeast Asia and our pace of innovation. We will continue deepening our expertise in technology and AI to bring greater value, trust and convenience to our users,” he continues, “We are grateful for the strong support from our new and existing investors, and their conviction in our capabilities, passion for the mission and product vision.”
Naspers was an early investor in China-based mobile apps giant Tencent.
Carousell has been expanding its marketplace offering in Singapore over the past year, adding fresh value-adding categories to its platform, among them: cars, property, jobs, services and finance.
