An $800 million bid has been submitted by Emaar Malls to take over e-commerce giant Souq.com, the company has confirmed.
Emaar Malls, a unit of Emaar Properties, confirmed that it lodged the offer with Souq.com’s shareholders 'in line with the strategy to align e-commerce with physical shopping'.
A bourse statement, signed by Ahmad Thani Al Matrooshi - managing director (UAE) of Emaar Properties, said the bid has not been accepted as yet.
“If the bid is approved, the impact on Emaar Malls' profit for the quarter in which the acquisition is completed and for the year 2017, will not be material,” the statement added.
Emaar Malls share price dropped 0.8 per cent in Dubai Financial Market after reports of the bid.
Earlier, Amazon agreed in principle to a 100 per cent takeover of Souq.com, in a deal believed to be worth around $580m.
However, it is understood that Souq has an 'exclusivity' clause as part of its negotiations with Amazon – meaning it would not be able to accept a counter offer while still in sale talks.
Sources suggest the Amazon deal is being driven by New York-based Tiger Global Management which has a substantial stake in Souq.
However, other small shareholders in Souq are yet to commit to a sale that could see Souq undervalued by almost $220 million, in comparison to the offer from Emaar Malls.