Alibaba Group has acquired South Asia’s largest e-commerce platform. Daraz Group disclosed Tuesday about the development. For an undisclosed amount, Daraz Group will now be a fully owned unit of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba which has been operating Taobao and Tmall in China.
Reports emerged earlier about the development when the price of the Rocket Internet’s online retail unit in Pakistan was going under negotiation between the two parties. Back then it was unclear if only the Pakistan’s retail unit will be acquired.
Daraz Group, today, has announced that the company was fully acquired by Alibaba to become a member of Alibaba Group.
Daraz was founded in Pakistan in 2012 and has since grown into the most popular online shopping destination in the country. Today, in addition to Pakistan, the company operates online platforms in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Daraz will continue to operate under the same brand following the transaction.
“With this transaction, Daraz has found its natural home in the Alibaba family, and we are proud to carry our part of the mission to ‘make it easy to do business anywhere’. With hard work and dedication, we have started the e-commerce journey in our markets, but we have still only scratched the surface of the potential.” – said Bjarke Mikkelsen, the Co-CEO, Daraz
Daraz said, with the acquisition, it will be able to leverage Alibaba’s leadership and experience in technology. The company said, it would help expanding online commerce, mobile payment and logistics to drive further growth in its key markets with the combined population of 460 million people, 60% of them under the age of 35.
“Together with Alibaba, we are ready to empower entrepreneurs in the region and to fulfill our promise to offer our customers the best selection of products with a high level of convenience. All of this would be supported by a best-in-class technology platform, a strong logistics network, and a vibrant community of ecosystem participants.” – said Dr. Jonathan Doerr, Co-CEO, Daraz
“We are excited for Daraz to become a part of the Alibaba ecosystem. Together with Daraz, we can now empower entrepreneurs to better serve consumers in the region through our technology and expertise. In Daraz, we found a great team that espouses our values and believes that a technology-enabled commerce ecosystem will play a critical role in driving the long-term economic development in South Asia.” – said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group.
The development comes after Alibaba’s interest to expand its business in Pakistan, following China’s $62 billion investment in China–Pakistan Economic Corridor across the country.
It’s also worth noting that Ant Financial (1/3rd owned by Alibaba) has also plans to acquire 45% stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank for $184.5 million to pace up mobile payment and digital financial services in the country.
