It’s a big day for Indonesia’s ecommerce scene, as two of the country’s biggest classifieds sites – Naspers-backed OLX Indonesia and 701Search-backed Berniaga – have agreed to do a joint venture. OLX Indonesia COO Alif Priyono says that both entities will merge under the OLX Indonesia brand.
The new OLX Indonesia will operate with OLX’s investor Naspers owning 64 percent, with the rest of the shares given to Berniaga’s current investor 701Search, which is jointly owned by Schibsted, Telenor, and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). The team is waiting for the approval from the European Commission for this joint venture, which is expected to come in early 2015.
When the transition is completed next year, Berniaga’s website, application, and users will be redirected to OLX. Until the process is complete, both companies will continue to operate normally.
See: Move over OLX. Indonesian ecommerce site Jualo is growing fast, invites new investors
Priyono adds that the objective of this joint venture is to make OLX the online classified site that matters in Indonesia. By attracting the largest collection of items, it can attract even more buyers. This creates a virtuous cycle.
OLX Indonesia and Berniaga are competing against the country’s biggest local website Kaskus. Kaskus’ online forum is also a popular feature on top of its online classifieds.
Naspers, Schibsted Media Group, Telenor Group, and SPH have also agreed to join forces in Brazil, Thailand, and Bangladesh. In the Philippines, 701Search will transfer its online classifieds business to Naspers.
Editing by Terence Lee
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