Bidding war for Ricardo

Several companies from different industries are vying for the job, according to a Article of the Tagesanzeiger about the Ricardo platform. The current owner, South Africa's Naspers, did not comment on the matter when asked. But the bidding process for the platform is in full swing, as several well-informed sources are said to have confirmed to the media company.

Retailers also interested

Apparently, it is not only online and media companies such as Ebay, Ringier and Tamedia that are interested in Ricardo, as has already been reported. Other well-known Swiss companies are also said to be courting the auction house. Retailers are also in the running. According to the Tagesanzeiger, Migros is still in the bidding process, according to several well-informed sources, while Coop has meanwhile withdrawn. Migros has not commented on possible acquisitions. Both retailers have made substantial acquisitions in the e-commerce sector in recent years: Coop with Nettoshop and Migros with Digitec.

Cars and classifieds

Tamedia and Ringier are pursuing the goal of further expanding the digital share of the company's earnings. Especially in the area of online classifieds, Ringier and Tamedia have invested a lot of money in recent years. With Ricardo, both could significantly expand their market shares in the car and free classifieds sectors. Autoricardo in particular, the strongest category by revenue, is likely to be the focus of Ringier and Tamedia. If Tamedia (which ranks third with its car4you platform) takes over Ricardo, the media company could catch up with market leader Autoscout (Ringier).

However, the focus is also on the classifieds business. Tamedia with Tutti.ch, Ringier with Anibis.ch and Ricardo with Olx.ch are vying for market share. Whoever snatches up Olx.ch will become the undisputed market leader. 

Post is also interested

In addition to the well-known media companies and retailers, the Swiss Post is apparently also interested in Ricardo. However, Swiss Post officials did not want to comment on possible negotiations with Ricardo to the Tagesanzeiger. Swiss Post would at least have had takeover aspirations in the retail sector before. It is known that Swiss Post wants to generate volume and sales with e-commerce. (Tagesanzeiger.ch/sis)