Konga Nigeria, a Nigeria-based e-commerce company backed by internet and media group Naspers, is in line to be acquired for about $35m, Naija247news reported yesterday.
Founded in 2012, Konga operates an online marketplace that sells a range of consumer goods including electronics, phones, fashion, groceries, sporting goods and books.
The company raised $3.5m in seed capital from investment firm Kinnevik in 2012 and another $10m from Kinnevik and Naspers later the same year.
The same two investors returned to provide $25m in a January 2014 series B round before Naspers led a round reported to be sized between $40m and $50m in October. Naspers reportedly held a 50% stake in Konga as of the end of 2014.
However, despite Nigeria’s large population Konga has not been able to grow its revenue as quickly as hoped, and recently announced it would cut staff numbers as part of an ongoing review process that will involve it assessing staff strength each six months.
Konga has approached its two key rivals in Nigeria’s e-commerce space – Jumia and Yudala – to discuss the possibility of an acquisition after an undisclosed investor divested its stake, according to an unnamed ‘insider’.
Although any precise acquisition price has not been revealed. Kinnevik values Konga at $35m according to its Q2 2016 earnings call, which revealed it owns a 34% stake worth SEK101m ($11.8m). The sane filing stated Konga only has 184,000 active customers.