For the past few months reports have circulated that the online retailer Amazon will takeover Souq, a Dubai-based online shopping platform. Since then, Amazon reportedly walked away from the billion dollar company and just recently returned to the negotiations table.
Quoting sources close to the deal, Reuters reported on Wednesday that Amazon has "agreed in principle" to purchase Souq. The price range is between $650 million and $750 million, according to Financial Times, less than the company's previous $1 billion valuation.
Although the MENA region is still not completely immersed in the culture of online shopping, Souq has done pretty well in proving that there is a lot of potential growth in this sector.
The online retailer, which lays claim to being the largest online retailer in the Arab world, controls around 78 percent of all e-commerce in the Middle-East and North Africa. This means that Souq, to a certain extent, is monopolizing the online market. It sells everything from accessories, to clothes, books, household appliances, electronics and groceries.
For Amazon, or any other company, taking over Souq could potentially become a great investment. But Amazon doesn't just want a piece of the pie, it wants the whole thing.
Amazon wants to buy 100 percent of Souq from its shareholders, according to Reuters. Whether or not Amazon will go through with the deal remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: e-commerce in the Arab world is rapidly growing with promises of increased profits.