[img src="" caption="" credit="" alt=""]The acquisition of European online trading site Tradus has been expected for some time now, but the acquisition price from South Africa-based Naspers, has in fact paid more than what reports forecast over the weekend. At $36.32 per share, Naspers valued Tradus at nearly $2 billion, which is 26.7% higher than the average share price during Naspers' most recent half-year, according to Paid Content.
[img src="" caption="" credit="" alt=""]Is Naspers making the same mistake as eBay, over-paying for a somewhat established tool for the purpose of its own expansion? With Naspers' own growth and established web presence, especially in the ad-supported market, Naspers is looking to branch into another direction--namely transaction-based e-commerce services. The company, which acquired Polish IM client Gadu-Gadu in October, is also part of Naspers' online businesses.
In focusing on Internet expansion, Naspers has established a new company called MIH Internet, which operates under its Myriad International Holdings division. This makes sense for MIH to handle the acquisition of Tradus, as MIH already dabbles in emerging markets on a global scale, including M-Web and Tencent, among others.