DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The operator of Dubai’s largest mall said Monday it made an $880-million offer to purchase the Middle East’s biggest online retailer Souq.com, adding new corporate intrigue to the website’s rumored sale to Amazon.
Emaar Mall’s bid for the site comes after Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar reportedly met in November with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at the state-backed firm’s cavernous Dubai Mall, home to a massive aquarium and in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building it built.
In the time since, Amazon apparently went after Souq.com as Alabbar stands ready to launch his own online retailer with Saudi money called noon.com. This potentially sets the stage for a major e-commerce battle in one of the Mideast’s most-lucrative markets.
Emaar Malls PJSC made public its bid for Souq.com in a filing Monday on the Dubai Financial Market. The short filing, signed by Emaar Malls vice chairman Ahmad Thani al-Matrooshi, said the bid was made “in line with the strategy to align e-commerce with physical shopping.”
“The bid has still not been accepted by the shareholders of Souq.com,” the filing said.