Dubai’s Emaar to sell online platform Namshi to Noon

Dubai-based developer Emaar will sell the online fashion platform Namshi to e-commerce company Noon for $335.2m.

Emaar’s board of directors has in principle approved the sale to Noon (subject to the approval of Noon board of directors), the company said, in a statement to Dubai Financial Market on August 19.

“The price shall be a cash consideration of USD 335,200,000 noting that the price is within the range which has been defined by an independent valuer approved by the Securities & Commodities Authority. The above cash consideration is the equity value of Namshi which is equivalent to USD 350,000,000 of Enterprise Value of the company. This is adjusted for the debt at the company level and the normalized working capital required for the company,” Emaar board member Ahmad Thani Al Matrooshi said in the statement.

Emaar will receive the equity value as the cash consideration for the sale. Detailed information will be disclosed once the approvals of Noon Board is received formally, the statement added.

The deal was signed on August 24, between Emaar Malls and Noon AD Holdings Limited. However, the expected closing date is within six months of signing, Emaar said in a separate statement on August 23.  “The transaction is in line with Emaar’s strategy to divest assets that are not core to its primary business so as to create and sustain value for its shareholders,” the August 23 statement read. Proceeds from the transaction will be invested by Emaar into its core real estate development business.

Based on the net asset value of of Namshi recorded in Emaar’s books as of June 30, 2022, the transaction will result in a net profit of Dhs628.68m for Emaar, it added.

Namshi recorded sales of Dhs1.541bn ($420m) during 2021.

Read: Dubai’s Emaar Properties posts 80% rise in net profit for 2021

The UAE’s e-commerce market has been on an upward trajectory, reaching just over $5bn in 2021 and projected to cross $8bn by 2025, according to a report launched by EZDubai and Euromonitor International.

Read: UAE e-commerce market valued at over $5bn in 2021