Global online classifieds platform, OLX, which is wholly owned by Prosus (which in turn is majority-owned by South Africa’s Naspers), announced on Friday, 26 September 2025, an agreement to acquire La Centrale, a leading French auto classifieds platform, from Providence Equity Partners for ~R22.35-billion (€1.1-billion).
The deal is expected to close by year-end, subject to a customary employee consultation process.
“La Centrale is a natural fit within our classifieds portfolio,” Christian Gisy, CEO of OLX, said. “Our strategy is to unleash the growth potential of vertical marketplaces, building strong regional leaders by scaling businesses using our proprietary AI technology. La Centrale’s strong market position and talented team are the perfect foundation to deliver our trusted, innovative customer-first technology solutions to France.”
OLX operates fast-growing and highly profitable online marketplaces for motors, real estate, jobs and goods with 29 million monthly users in eight countries, primarily in Central and Eastern Europe. The acquisition marks OLX’s entry into Western Europe and France’s structurally attractive automotive market. La Centrale is recognised as France’s most specialised auto classifieds platform, with strength in higher-value vehicles and deep trust among sellers and consumers.
Fabricio Bloisi, CEO of Prosus, added: “La Centrale strengthens our lifestyle e-commerce ecosystem in Europe and highlights our commitment to invest in the people and platforms shaping the future of e-commerce in the region. La Centrale will expand our footprint into one of Europe’s most dynamic technology markets and unlock new opportunities to innovate, scale, and deliver even greater value to consumers and partners through AI. I expect to invest more in AI technology in France.”
What this means for you
If you’ve ever searched for a car on AutoTrader SA, you already understand La Centrale’s importance in France. AutoTrader dominates local online car sales in much the same way La Centrale dominates the French market.
The difference is scale. AutoTrader SA serves a market of about 12 million vehicles in circulation; La Centrale taps into France’s 40 million vehicles.
Just as AutoTrader has become a near-essential stop in the car-buying journey here, La Centrale is indispensable in France. OLX’s bet is that this category will drive sustained, high-margin revenue.
But actually… If your retirement savings or unit trusts hold Naspers shares, you are indirectly invested in Prosus. That means deals like La Centrale, and whether OLX can turn listings into profits, affect your bottom line.
Read more: The Finance Ghost: A taste for growth — Spur, Sabvest and Prosus
Next chapter
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/OLX-motors.jpg "The acquisition of La Centrale marks OLX’s entry into Western Europe and France’s structurally attractive autos market.")
Karim Tabet, Providence’s senior MD and head of Europe, and his MD Robert Sudo, said: “Since our investment in 2021, Providence, in partnership with Philippe and his team, has successfully transformed La Centrale from a traditional auto classifieds player into a leading data and tech platform for new and used cars in France. We believe substantial investments in talent, technology and marketing, together with the dedication of all employees, have been pivotal to the company’s strategic transformation and to La Centrale’s success. We are proud to have supported La Centrale throughout this journey and wish the entire team and OLX continued success in the future.”
Philippe Chainieux, CEO of La Centrale, added that the transaction would allow the company to accelerate innovation and deliver even greater value to our customers. “We are excited to write the next chapter of growth together.”
The business case for OLX-La Centrale deal
- Strengthens OLX’s European automotive portfolio: La Centrale is a leading French vertical auto classifieds platform with strong brand recognition and scale (about 4.5 million unique monthly visitors and around 350,000 listings), which complements OLX’s leading motors portfolio in Central and Eastern Europe, comprising four brands spanning five markets.
- A compelling market opportunity: The French car market is healthy and resilient, with solid growth potential in the dealer segment. The ongoing shift of the used-car market towards professional sellers presents a significant upside as the dealership landscape matures and consolidates. Professional dealers currently account for about 36% of used-car sales, compared with about 70% in Germany, and the average value per dealer transaction sits below European benchmarks. At the same time, margins on new cars are tightening, EV adoption is reshaping supply, and consumers are increasingly turning to trusted digital platforms for transparency and choice. Classifieds platforms such as La Centrale are well-positioned to capture this opportunity by connecting professional sellers with a growing pool of value-conscious buyers.
- Backs a strong leadership team: La Centrale’s leadership has revitalised the brand in recent years. It has undergone a successful restructuring, strengthening its technology, user experience and overall market position, closing ground with its competitors. This has led to an improved financial performance with classifieds revenue growing at a 12% CAGR.
- Enhances Prosus’s European ecosystem strategy: Prosus is building the top European technology ecosystem, which will lead in consumer platforms and AI. The ecosystem approach will drive user engagement and customer loyalty, strengthen AI capabilities and help to optimise costs for its businesses. Prosus’s investment in AI is already reinventing e-commerce, from intelligent dispatching to hyper-personalised ordering, and it is building Large Commerce Models – AI systems that are the new operating systems for e-commerce. Following on the heels of Prosus’s planned acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway.com, La Centrale further strengthens Prosus’s European ambition.
In August, Prosus received EU approval for its $4.8-billion bid for Just Eat Takeaway, which analysts expect will establish the world's fourth-largest food delivery company.
Read more: Prosus to buy Just Eat to create a European food delivery ‘champion’
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/prosus-ecommerce-projections.jpg "Prosus has made promising e-commerce projections")
Commenting on the La Centrale transaction to Business Day TV, Aheesh Singh, chief investment officer at MP9 Asset Management, noted that it was OLX’s first major push into Western Europe. “The classified cars market in France is relatively underpenetrated – Prosus and OLX are looking to take advantage of that. This transaction fits quite well into their current strategic objectives around e-commerce businesses. I think execution will be important,” he said.
Why South Africans should care
It is easy to dismiss Prosus as another offshore story. But it does still have a measurable impact on JSE traders. When Prosus hits all-time highs, when it narrows its NAV discount, when it buys a French car site; it’s local pension funds and individual investors who benefit.
There is also symbolism. MultiChoice, the once-glittering Naspers jewel, has been absorbed by a French media giant. Meanwhile OLX, another Naspers creation (at least in its current form), is buying into France’s digital economy. The divergence underscores how far the South African company has travelled from its roots, and how much of its future now lies abroad.
For Prosus, the test will be whether it can turn those clicks into compounding returns, proving to sceptical investors that it can be more than Tencent’s arm candy.
The road from Cape Town to Paris is long, winding, and paved with Tencent dividends. But it remains as most other chapters in the saga, improbably a South African story. DM