OLX Pakistan acquires local listings competitor Asani

OLX Pakistan, a subsidiary of the global online classifieds marketplace OLX, has confirmed rumors that it recently bought Asani, a local competitor trying to challenge its overwhelming dominance.

In the last several days a notice on the Asani page had been informing users that they will soon be redirected to the OLX Pakistan site, but the company shied away from commenting publicly on the issue. Today, speaking to Tech in Asia, a public relations executive confirmed the acquisition and said, “We are entering into a joint venture with Asani to further build the classifieds market in Pakistan as a single business. The merging of the two ventures shall result in a better user experience.” However, no financial details pertaining to the size of the acquisition amount were given.

Asani initially entered the Pakistani market in July 2014, announcing itself with a heavy marketing blitz over print, television, radio, and online media. With an estimated number of 200,000 monthly desktop visits (according to SimilarWeb), the startup had clearly made a name for itself in Pakistan, where trading in used goods is a highly lucrative market. Flexing its financial muscle, OLX has moved to swat away competition and create a classifieds behemoth.

OLX (OnLine eXchange) has a presence in 106 countries across the world and is a marketplace for used goods such as furniture, cars, mobile phones, cameras, property, games, and more. It is currently owned by digital media company Naspers.