Emaar Malls’ $151M Majority Buy of Rocket Internet’s Namshi

Dubai-based e-commerce retailer Emaar Malls has been looking to expand its online presence for quite some time. Following a March bid loss of Souq to Amazon, Emaar Malls has now announced its win of acquiring a majority stake in Berlin-based e-commerce incubator Rocket Internet’s fashion site Namshi.

With $151 million, Emaar Malls beat out other bids and now owns 51 percent of Namshi. In this move, Emaar Malls is said to now be on par with the likes of Amazon in the Middle East. To help further propel Emaar Malls’ e-commerce presence, its rumored that the company’s chairman Mohamed Alabbar is looking to invest approximately $2 billion in startups throughout the region.

Alabbar commented on the Namshi deal and what it will mean for the Emaar Malls brand. He said “The acquisition of a majority stake in Namshi underines our digital-driven strategy to leverage the growing e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa region. Namshi offers a perfect fit for Emaar Malls in accelerating its focus on multi-channel retailing, and creating long-term value for its stakeholders.”