Prosus' OLX To Buy French Online Auto Trader La Centrale For $1.3 Billion

OLX Group, a leading e-commerce marketplace operator owned by Dutch tech group Prosus (AMS: PRX), has struck a deal to buy La Centrale, a French online auto marketplace. 

OLX will pay €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) to acquire La Centrale from its owner, the U.S.-based private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. Providence bought a majority stake in La Centrale in 2020.

By acquiring La Centrale, OLX furthers its ambition to build a formidable European e-commerce ecosystem. The Amsterdam, Netherlands-based company operates global automobile marketplaces, including AutoTrader in the U.K., Otomoto in Poland, Standvirtual in Portugal, and Autovit in Romania. La Centrale will give OLX a stronger footing in Europe’s vast e-commerce market.

In its last fiscal year ending June 2025, OLX reported $777 million in revenue, up 18% from the previous year. The company aims to grow its revenue by at least 20% over the next two to three years, Chief Executive Christian Gisy has said. La Centrale represents a strategic acquisition aimed at achieving this targeted growth. 

OLX has historically relied on acquisitions to fuel its growth. It has bought six companies from 2019 to date, backed by ample cash from its parent firm, Prosus. 

Prosus is one of Europe’s largest internet companies, with a market value of €139 billion ($163 billion, as of writing). It was spun out of Naspers, a South African media company that struck it big with an early investment in Chinese tech giant Tencent. 

• A $32 million investment in Tencent in 2001 grew into over $100 billion as Tencent became one of China’s tech giants. This mammoth return enabled Naspers to fund other global tech investments, and it spun out Prosus to hold these assets.

• Operating independently since 2019, Prosus has continued to invest in global tech companies, including via its subsidiary OLX Group.