Dubai - Amazon.com and India’s Flipkart Online Services have
walked away from talks to acquire Dubai-based Souq.com after disagreeing over
price, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
The e-commerce business is
now seeking other potential investors and is negotiating with mall-operator
Majid Al Futtaim, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the
talks aren’t public.
US online retail giant
Amazon entered talks with Souq.com last year in a deal that would have been
worth about $1 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said in November.
The Middle Eastern company’s existing investors include Tiger Global Management
and South Africa’s Naspers. Souq.com appointed Goldman Sachs Group to find
buyers for a stake last year, people familiar said.
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Souq.com became the highest
valued Internet company in the Middle East after a $275 million founding round
in February 2016, according to Standard Chartered, which has invested in Souq.
The company sells more than 1.5 million products online to customers in
countries including the United Arab Emirates,
Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
A spokesman for Majid Al
Futtaim declined to comment, while Amazon and Flipkart didn’t immediately
return requests for comment. Souq.com wasn’t immediately available to comment.
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