Technology investor Prosus has completed the purchase of Latin American online travel agency Despegar for $1.7bn, taking total spending under CEO Fabricio Bloisi to about $6bn after he took office a year ago.
The completion of the Despegar deal, first announced in December, is another milestone in Bloisi’s strategy to build a leading lifestyle e-commerce outfit in Europe, India and Latin America.
“With Despegar joining the Prosus family, we’re accelerating our vision to build the most dynamic lifestyle e-commerce ecosystems across Latin America, India and Europe,” Bloisi said on Thursday.
“By adding Latin America’s top travel platform to our portfolio and leveraging iFood’s scale, our fintech capabilities, Sympla’s events and experiences, and OLX Brazil, we will unlock greater convenience for customers and open exciting new revenue streams. We are redefining lifestyle e-commerce by creating experiences that don’t just meet needs but anticipate them.”
Founded in Argentina in 1999, Despegar has expanded throughout the region and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017.
The company operates in more than 19 Latin American markets, serving customers through two main business models. The first is an omnichannel business to customer (B2C) platform that connects with users via the web, a mobile app and conversational channels powered by the company’s AI assistant, Sofia. The second is a “rapidly expanding” business to business (B2B) segment that offers white-label solutions to partners such as banks, airlines and retailers.
White labelling refers to a company providing a product or service to another which rebrands and resells it under its own name.
Prosus said the Despegar deal introduces a “significant and compelling” addition to its Latin America business which will now serve more than 100-million customers across local e-commerce, travel and fintech sectors.
Damián Scokin, CEO of Despegar said the deal was a win-win for the parties.
“With Prosus as our partner we will benefit from scale and expertise in AI to accelerate growth and expand our service portfolio,” Scokin said.
“We will continue to accelerate innovation and set new standards in the travel market, while also contributing to building Prosus’ position as Latin America’s premier lifestyle ecosystem brand.”
Bloisi, who replaced Bob van Dijk as Naspers and Prosus CEO in July has been implanting the “Prosus Way” throughout the group, as he inculcates a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation.
The group is in the final stages of a $4.3bn deal to buy Europe’s largest food delivery businesses, Just Eat Takeaway.com — its biggest investment yet.
In 2020 Naspers and the Amsterdam-listed unit failed in its bid for Just Eat, losing out to Takeaway.com, which paid $8bn.
Prosus’ £5bn bid, about R98bn at the time, was seen as a sign of an ambitious strategy to build a bigger food delivery business to take on Silicon Valley giant Uber Eats and Amazon-backed Deliveroo.
Under Bloisi Prosus remains undeterred in its ambition to build a European food delivery powerhouse.
In a letter to shareholders last week Bloisi said the two deals were a game changer for the group.
“I am very excited to bring both companies into Prosus. The team is working hard on the regulatory approvals to close the transactions ASAP, and I am working hard to make ASAP happen more quickly. Rather than invest in many new things, my clear priority now is to bring both companies into Prosus and grow them strongly.”
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