CLASSIFIEDS APP
Naspers earmarks $500m for mobile classifieds app letgo
Naspers will invest another $500m (R6.7bn) in letgo, the unprofitable New York-based mobile classifieds app it first bought into in 2015. Africa’s biggest company is sitting on more than $10bn in net cash after trimming its stake in China’s Tencent and selling its shares in India’s Flipkart to Walmart. It has been scouring the globe in search of investment opportunities in the classifieds, online food delivery and fintech segments, both in existing businesses and new ventures. By doing so, it hopes to convince investors that it is more than just a cheap entry point into Hong Kong-listed Tencent. On Wednesday, letgo, which is yet to reach profitability, said Naspers had committed to invest $500m of new capital in the company, $150m of which had already been transferred. The second-hand e-commerce platform said the funding would be used to boost its growth, for "product evolution", to enter new verticals, and for its monetisation efforts. The start-up’s app has been downloaded by more...
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