Carousell raises $56m from Naspers’ classifieds giant OLX

OLX Group, a global classifieds giant owned by Naspers, has invested US$56 million in Carousell for a 10% stake, a leading mobile classifieds startup in Southeast Asia, the company announced today. This values the company at over US$550 million.

Carousell will also acquire the Philippine operations of OLX Group and fold it into its own platform in stages, with a deadline set for the second half of the year. OLX Philippines currently has 6 million monthly unique users.

Carousell has continued to grow its marketplace in terms of both items listed and sold.

Earlier today, a company filing obtained by Tech in Asia showed a total paid-up capital of around US$184 million in Carousell Pte Ltd, its Singapore entity, up from US$127 million after its series B round in 2018.

The investment makes OLX Group one of the company’s largest shareholders after ecommerce company Rakuten and venture capital firm Sequoia India, which own 29.6% and 15.1% of the company, respectively, the filing shows.

After the latest cash injection, Carousell’s three founders – Quek Siu Rui, Marcus Tan, and Lucas Ngoo – each own 8.75% of Carousell Pte Ltd.

Naspers and Carousell were in investment talks since at least 10 months ago, reported TechCrunch. Discussions then had pegged the startup at a valuation of over US$500 million. This deal could be a prelude to Naspers owning a controlling interest in Carousell.

OLX Group runs 18 brands around the world, targeting a variety of classifieds types, including cars, jobs, and properties. It has over 350 million monthly active users and over 5,000 employees, its website says.

OLX is majority-owned by Naspers, an internet and media company from South Africa with a market capitalization exceeding US$100 billion. Naspers’ fortunes are tied to Tencent – it’s known as an early investor and holds a substantial amount of stock in the Chinese internet giant.

Naspers is now diversifying from that investment, and the Carousell stake fits into that big picture.

Fresh out of university, Carousell’s founders established the startup in 2012 and pioneered mobile classifieds in the region. Its app made posting a listing easy – taking as little as 30 seconds – and quickly became a popular way for people to offload unwanted items in the household or make a side income through reselling clothes, furniture, and other items.