Adevinta sells Gumtree SA

Adevinta has sold Gumtree South Africa to Durban-based Impresa Capital, two years after purchasing it.

Adevinta had purchased eBay's online classified business (including Gumtree operations in Australia, Mexico, South Africa and UK) in a deal worth a reported $9.2bn in July 2020, but has now sold the digital platform—one of the biggest online classifieds websites in South Africa—for an undisclosed fee two years later.

Adevinta sold the platform so it can focus its attentions on five core markets.

Rolv Erik Ryssdal, outgoing CEO of Adevinta, said:

“As part of Adevinta’s strategic review process, we continue to focus our investment capacity on five European Core Markets (France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain), and we have made every effort to find the ideal buyer, not only to continue to invest in Gumtree SA, but to ensure the continuity of the operations for the employees involved.

"Adevinta will continue to support Gumtree SA and its employees throughout this transition, to ensure continuity for the business and its users.  We wish them every success in the future."

Impresa Capital is led by tech entrepreneur brothers Sean and Donovan Bergsma. On the purchase, CEO Sean said:

“We are delighted to bring Gumtree SA back to its home roots in South Africa, and to expand on the Gumtree platform with new products and services that will benefit Gumtree customers, both consumers and businesses alike."