Conglomerate Ayala Corp. said Thursday it completed the acquisition of a 49-percent stake in Zalora Philippines, the country’s largest online fashion and lifestyle retailing platform.
Ayala Corp. said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the group subscribed to shares in BF Jade E-Services Inc., the company that owns and operates Zalora Philippines, after it complied with all the closing conditions.
Under the agreement, Ayala Corp. subscribed to a 43.3-percent stake in BF-Jade while property unit Ayala Land Inc. acquired a 1.91-percent interest.
BPI Capital Corp., a unit of Bank of the Philippine Islands and Kickstart Ventures Inc., a unit of Globe Telecom, also agreed to buy stakes in BF-Jade, boosting the group’s total stake in Zalora Philippines to 49 percent.
The deal allows the conglomerate to capture the growing opportunities in e-commerce.
“Through this transaction, Ayala aims to capture the growing opportunities in e-commerce amid a robust domestic consumer market and an increasingly digital environment. Moreover, with businesses in real estate, banking, and telecommunications, this investment provides opportunities for Ayala to create synergies across the e-commerce value chain,” Ayala Corp said.
The partnership is also expected to strengthen the leadership of Zalora Philippines.
Zalora Philippines was established in 2012 as a part of the global network of the Zalora Group, which was 100-percent owned by Global Fashion Group, the world’s largest online fashion platform for emerging markets.
It is currently the Philippines’ largest online fashion destination, offering over 120,000 products across more than 1,000 brands in accessories, beauty, clothing, shoes and sports.
Zalora’s online fashion business is complemented by a proprietary, robust and scalable logistics platform that utilizes online channels and technology.
Share price of Ayala Corp. closed higher by 2.3 percent to P920 Thursday.