Telenor Group said it will merge its online classified advertisement business, 701Search, with Carousell in an equity and cash agreement. 701Search owns leading general classifieds sites Mudah in Malaysia, Chotot in Vietnam and OneKyat in Myanmar. Carousell operates in eight countries and is backed by Telenor, Rakuten Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Naspers, 500 Startups, Golden Gate Ventures, DBS and EDBI.
Telenor will have a 32 percent stake in the company, making it the largest minority shareholder. 701Search will cease to be a Telenor subsidiary and will merge its operations with Carousell with immediate effect. The Carousell marketplace offers items in various categories, including cars, lifestyle merchandise, gadgets and fashion accessories.
Johan Rostoft, head of online classified ads at Telenor Group, said it has built a profitable and high-growth marketplace serving millions of users every day. The transaction with Carousell is an attractive opportunity for Telenor to develop this business it simplify its portfolio.
Quek Siu Rui, co-founder and CEO of Carousell, said the deal with Telenor will “cement” its classifieds leadership in eight markets in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Telenor said Carousell is a prominent start-up, founded in 2012, with dominant positions in Singapore and Hong Kong. Most of its staff are based in Singapore.
After the merger, 701Search’s Singapore-based regional team will be fully integrated into Carousell. Mudah, Chotot and OneKyat will retain their individual brands and platforms, continuing operations in Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar respectively. The businesses will report to Quek Siu Rui.
The deal does not require regulatory approval and is closed immediately.
