AAA MDS boosts MatahariMall stake

MDS boosts MatahariMall stake

Retail group Matahari Department Stores (MDS) has paid Rp165m ($12.3m) to increase its stake in Global E-commerce Indonesia (GEI), the Indonesia-based operator of e-commerce platform MatahariMall, to 12%, DealStreetAsia has reported.

MatahariMall is an online marketplace that aggregates the offerings of about 5,000 sellers, and the company also sources and sells its own goods. In addition to its online offering, it operates almost 150 brick-and-mortar stores across 68 Indonesian cities.

Real estate firm Lippo Group launched the platform in early 2015 with $500m of funding that is being provided over a two-to-three year period, before Japan-based conglomerate Mitsui led a $100m round in October 2016.

MDS invested $4.2m in GEI in January 2016 to expand its stake to 10.3%, though that stake was subsequently diluted to 8.4% through investments by other shareholders. Its $12.3m investment was worth 3.6% of the company.

The MDS management team said in a statement: “The company sees large potential in the e-commerce sector. With increased stakes in the platform, Matahari secures opportunities for huge returns in the future.

“We will also be able to synergise MatahariStore.com into MatahariMall’s existing platform, which will in turn widen reach across the country, as well as boost Matahari’s net profit.”

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