Amazon.com Inc. and India’s Flipkart Online Services Pvt have walked away from talks to acquire Dubai-based Souq.com following disagreements over price, according to Bloomberg.
Two people with knowledge on the matter who wish not to be named said that the e-commerce business is now seeking other potential investors, and is apparently negotiating with mall-operator Majid Al Futtaim.
Talks between the U.S. online retail giant Amazon began with Souq.com in November 2016, in a deal that was expected to have been worth about $1 billion, after Souq.com appointed Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to find buyers for a stake last year. The Middle Eastern company’s existing investors include Tiger Global Management and South Africa’s Naspers Ltd.
Souq.com became the highest valued Internet company in the Middle East after a $275 million founding round in February 2016. 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 on this ongoing story, while Amazon and Flipkart didn’t immediately return requests for comment from Bloomberg.
