OLX Group has announced a merger with Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) which runs property sites in Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, and the UAE.
OLX Group, a Prosus’s global classifieds business, alongside existing EMPG shareholders, will also invest $150 million into the group, which values EMPG at US $1 billion after the transaction. After the deal, OLX Group will own 39% of the company.
See related: APPLY: IPA tables $800,000; invites African innovators to solve remote learning challenges amid COVID-19
According to Martin Scheepbouwer, CEO of OLX Group, “I’m proud of what we have built in these four markets. Our brands are household names, and currently help tens of millions of people to exchange goods and services every month. As EMPG’s largest shareholder, we’ll have a front seat to explore how we can scale their services model further – taking our ambition to shape the future of classifieds into its next stage.”
See related: Oriente raises $50 million to continue building its infrastructure for digital financial services
The property group will use the new capital to develop a range of new services, create a more seamless user experience, enhance data transparency, and deepen market intelligence for both consumers and business users. In Egypt and Lebanon, EMPG will operate the existing OLX platforms while in Pakistan and the UAE, both groups’ platforms will be operated by EMPG and will continue to operate through their well-known local brands.
