The online shopping giant Amazon has reportedly reached an agreement to fully acquire the UAE-based e-commerce platform souq.com, valued at $1bn.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Amazon has decided to terminate the deal after a disagreement over the price of Souq, which Amazon initially negotiated to acquire for around $650m.
Souq currently controls around 78% of all e-commerce in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as it offers 8.4 million products on its website.
Other Souq bidders included Majid Al Futtaim, that reportedly pulled out of the bidding process. Souq’s existing investors include Tiger Global Management and South Africa’s Naspers Ltd.
A difficult year was forecast for Souq as a result of the establishment of noon.com, a $1bn rival platform, funded by Emirati billionaire Mohamed Alabbar and the Saudi Public Investment Fund.