Alibaba Acquires Lazada E-Commerce Platform

Alibaba Group Holding has entered into an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Lazada, a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia.

The transaction consists of an investment of approximately $500 million in newly issued equity capital of Lazada and acquisition of shares from certain Lazada shareholders, for a total Alibaba investment of $1 billion, according to the companies.

The transaction should help brands and distributors around the world that already do business on Alibaba’s platform, as well as local merchants, access the Southeast Asian consumer market, they stated.

Lazada currently operates e-commerce platforms in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“Globalization is a critical strategy for the growth of Alibaba Group today and well into the future,” said Michael Evans, president of Alibaba. “With the investment in Lazada, Alibaba gains access to a platform with a large and growing consumer base outside China, a proven management team and a solid foundation for future growth in one of the most promising regions for e-commerce globally. This investment is consistent with our strategy of connecting brands, distributors and consumers wherever they are and support our ecosystem expansion in Southeast Asia to better serve our customers.”

Max Bittner, CEO of Lazada Group, added, “We are very excited about joining forces with Alibaba and see significant synergies that will drive great benefits to our customers in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is an attractive mobile-driven consumer market that is highly fragmented and diverse with significant barriers to entry and a nascent modern retail sector that has large headroom for growth. The transaction will help us to accelerate our goal to provide the 560 million consumers in the region access to the broadest and most unique assortment of products. Leveraging Alibaba’s unique knowhow and technology will allow us to rapidly improve our services and provide an even more effortless shopping and selling experience.”