Massmart, the Walmart-owned retail group that would be more recognisable to you as Game or Dion Wired (if they were still around), has added another South African company to its roster. OneCart, the local service that allows its users to purchase items like groceries from more than one location, has now joined the ranks of the people of Walmart.
The deal has been in the works since August this year, reports TechCentral, but the two companies have since agreed to terms. Just what those terms are isn’t known, but OneCart fonder Lynton Peters, as well as an unnamed “minority shareholder”, will hang on to the shares that don’t revert to Makro and Game’s parent company.
Reaching critical Massmart
Massmart said, in a statement to its shareholders, that it “…is pleased to announce that the negotiations have now successfully been concluded and a sale of shares and subscription agreement has been signed whereby the company will, through its wholly owned subsidiary Fresh Food Direct, acquire an equity shareholding ultimately constituting 87.5% of the issued shares in OneCart.”
It seems that OneCart will stick around in its current incarnation, in addition to being put to use within the retail juggernaut’s operations. Its new owners also said that “OneCart represents one of the building blocks of our broader e-commerce strategy. This acquisition will allow Massmart to further expand its capabilities in the fast-growing on-demand delivery segment, while continuing to support the independent retailer marketplace model of OneCart.”
It looks like, at least for now, OneCart users can continue using the service as they always have. Customers at the various Walmart-backed retail chains in SA will also shortly find their lives getting… just that much easier.
Source: TechCentral
