Amazon Acquires Arab Unicorn, SOUQ.com After $800M Counter Offer

The money is truly raining in the Middle East.

Amazon has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Souq.com, an ecommerce leader in the Middle East. Joining the Amazon family will enable Souq.com to continue growing while working with Amazon to bring even more products and offerings to customers worldwide.

The first offer to purchase one of the standout startups of the Middle East, Souq.com came from Emaar Malls PJSC. It was an 800 million dollar offer from the world’s largest chain of malls. Chairman of the parent company behind Emaar Malls is Mohamed Alabbar, who is also an investor and main instigator of yet to launch Middle Eastern ecomm platform, Noon.com.

Noon.com was started with an investment of 1 billion dollars.

The amount for which Amazon acquired Souq.com is undisclosed, however given what we know about the initial offer of $800 million, we can only speculate that Amazon’s deal had more value to the management at Souq.com.

"Amazon and Souq.com share the same DNA – we’re both driven by customers, invention, and long-term thinking,” said Russ Grandinetti, Amazon senior vice president for the international consumer division. "Souq.com pioneered ecommerce in the Middle East, creating a great shopping experience for their customers. We're looking forward to both learning from and supporting them with Amazon technology and global resources. And together, we’ll work hard to provide the best possible service for millions of customers in the Middle East."

"We are guided by many of the same principles as Amazon, and this acquisition is a critical next step in growing our ecommerce presence on behalf of customers across the region," said Souq.com CEO and cofounder, Ronaldo Mouchawar. "By becoming part of the Amazon family, we'll be able to vastly expand our delivery capabilities and customer selection much faster, as well as continue Amazon's great track record of empowering sellers."

Subject to closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to close in 2017. After months of reports that Jeff Bezos was in and around Dubai meeting with business people, this announcement finally puts the curious to rest. A day after the Souq.com acquisition announcement was made, Bezos’ net worth increased by $1.5 billion dollars as Amazon’s stock rose $18.32. That made Bezos the world’s second richest man (behind Bill Gates), at least for the time being, with a net worth of $75.6 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

Souq.com is the largest online retail and marketplace platform in the Arab world, featuring more than 8.4 million products across 31 categories such as consumer electronics, fashion, health and beauty, household goods, and baby goods. Souq.com attracts over 45 million visits per month, with localized operations in the KSA, UAE and Egypt.