Indonesian conglomerate Astra to buy OLX local unit (update)

Photo credit: Astra International

Astra International has announced its plan to acquire Tokobagus, the entity operating classifieds platform OLX Indonesia.

The buyout will be carried out through Astra Digital Mobil, the Indonesian conglomerate’s used-car marketplace unit, a company spokesperson told Tech in Asia. However, he did not elaborate on the details.

Owned by the global tech investor firm Prosus, OLX Indonesia offers a marketplace for categories such as automotive (under OLX Autos), electronics, households, fashion, and property, which was acquired by Lamudi in 2022.

In March, Prosus was reportedly in talks with several players to sell OLX Autos’ India and Indonesia businesses. At the time, Prosus said the global growth strategy for OLX Autos was “no longer the right approach” for its shareholders.”

Meanwhile, Astra Digital Mobil launched its used-car marketplace platform Mobbi in November 2022. It’s unclear whether Astra will merge Mobbi and OLX Autos operations or the companies will continue to operate separately.

By acquiring OLX Autos, Astra will venture deeper into the secondhand-car marketplace, where players like Carro, Carsome, Carmudi, and Moladin are already present.

The intense competition in the sector has resulted in casualties: India-based Cars24 decided to close its operations in Indonesia in May.

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Update (July 23, 2:00 a.m.): This article was updated to clarify that Astra will acquire Tokobagus (OLX Indonesia) instead of OLX Autos.