Impresa Capital has announced that it has inked a deal with Norwegian online classifieds specialist Adevinta to acquire Gumtree South Africa for an undisclosed sum.
It said this marks the first time in 18 years that South Africa’s biggest online classified advertisement and community website will be in the hands of South African owners.
Gumtree South Africa was launched in 2004 and remains one of the country’s top 10 favourite sites.
US auction website eBay acquired Gumtree in May 2005. Adevinta then acquired eBay in June 2021.
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Impresa Capital is the majority shareholder of the Ignition Group of companies based in Durban. Ignition was founded in 2002 by brothers Sean and Donovan Bergsma.
“As a proudly African-rooted business, this acquisition cements our strategy of investments in the technology and media sectors and provides our portfolio of businesses with a solid platform for growth,” said Ignition Group co-founder and CEO Sean Bergsma.
“We plan to enable Gumtree customers to experience new ways of buying and selling through partnerships with the Ignition ecosystem of services.”
Bergsma sees the Gumtree acquisition as the ideal “next step” to taking the business in new and exciting directions for the future and opening up a wealth of opportunities for Gumtree users through the platform.
“The accelerated growth of Gumtree on the African continent will see new jobs being created, and with the technology developed further using local South African talent, it means exciting times ahead for all stakeholders,” Bergsma said.
Gumtree SA general manager Claire Cobbledick said that as a community-based marketplace, local expertise and knowledge presents a strategic advantage.
“Being acquired by a South African investor is an important and exciting next step for the Gumtree SA business. We look forward to unlocking synergies within the Ignition Group businesses and network,” Cobbledick said.
Bergsma declined to reveal how much they offered for Gumtree and said the deal is still subject to final regulatory approvals.
Source: My Broadband
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Source: Gumtree South Africa acquired by Durban venture capitalists
Category: Business, Southern Africa, DURBAN VENTURE CAPITALIST, GUMTREE SOUTH AFRICA, South Africa
