London, Dubai: Dubai-based online retailer Souq.com is planning to sell a stake of about 30 per cent that would give the company a value of at least $1.2 billion (Dh4.41 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said.
Souq.com appointed advisers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to find buyers for the stake, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Existing investors Tiger Global Management and South Africa’s Naspers Ltd. are open to selling part of their holdings in the transaction, the people said. The company may attract another business in the industry or a financial investor, and is willing to sell a larger stake at the right price, one of the people said.
Representatives for Goldman Sachs and Tiger Global declined to comment. A representative for Souq.com didn’t have an immediate comment. Naspers didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
The company, which has a similar business model to Amazon.com Inc., secured $275 million from investors in its latest fund-raising round in February. Tiger Global and Naspers boosted their investments during the funding, while other investors like Standard Chartered Plc, the World Bank’s International Finance Corp., and Baillie Gifford & Co. also participated in the funding.
Chief Executive Officer Ronaldo Mouchawar said at the time the company would be open to selling shares to the public in the future. Established in 2005, Souq.com sells more than 400,000 products online to customers in the UAE, Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
— Bloomberg
