Monday, May 01, 2017

DUBAI

Online retailer JadoPado announced on Monday morning that it had been bought by a “large regional business,” whilst declining to specify who was behind the acquisition.

In a statement posted on its website, Omar Kassim, JadoPado’s CEO, said the company was closing down following the acquisition, whilst his team was moving on to new projects.

The marketplace is to close with immediate effect.

“Our grand experiment is at an end after 2,420 days. We’re incredibly happy to announce that JadoPado has been acquired by a large regional business,” Kassim said in the statement.

When contacted by Gulf News, Kassim declined to add to what was already announced in the blog post.

The CEO said in his statement that “While we’d love to give you more details, we’ve been sworn to secrecy,” regarding the buyer, who he described as a large regional business.

JadoPado is one of the region’s leading online marketplaces, raising $4 million (Dh14.69 million) in its Series A funding round, led by venture capital firm BECO Capital.

It valued the company at approximately $28 million in November 2015.

In February 2015, JadoPado transformed its e-commerce site where it sold primarily tech gadgets, directly into a ‘virtual marketplace’ where independent sellers across multiple categories could put up their merchandise.

Thanking his customers in the statement, Kassim told JadoPado’s sellers that they would have until May 25 to access their online sales tools, called hotcake.

Closing out the announcement with a tribute to his team, the CEO hinted at what lay ahead for him and his colleagues: “I look forward to doing more incredible work with all of you in the near future.”

By Ed Clowes Staff Reporter

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