Naspers in $570m Russia internet deal

Johannesburg - South African media and e-commerce firm Naspers [JSE:NPN] will merge two of its Russian internet sites with rival Avito.ru in a deal worth at least $570m, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Cape Town-based Naspers, which has transformed itself into a $29bn internet powerhouse by buying business in fast-growing markets, plans to merge its Slando.ru and OLX.ru classified sites with Avito, the FT said in its online edition.

The deal, which would create the world's third-largest classified website, would also include Naspers investing $50m in cash into Avito, giving it an 18.6% stake, the paper said.

After the deal Avito is likely to hold a 25% share of the Russian classified market in terms of traffic, the paper said.

No one was immediately available for comment at Naspers.  

Naspers shares fell 2% to R624.30 on Tuesday following reports of the merger.

*Fin24 is owned by Naspers.