Ayala Corp takes 43.3% stake in Zalora PH

MANILA, Philippines – Ayala Corporation, the holding company of the Ayala conglomerate, formally entered the country’s thriving e-commerce industry by taking a significant stake in Zalora Philippines, the country’s leading online fashion platform.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Thursday, February 23, Ayala Corporation announced that it took a 43.3% ownership stake in BF Jade E-Services Philippines, which owns and operates Zalora Philippines.

Ayala Land Incorporated, BPI Capital Corporation, and Kickstart Ventures Incorporated also acquired minority ownership stakes in BF Jade. All 3 fall under the Ayala conglomerate’s umbrella.

This acquisition is part of Ayala’s strategy to invest in innovative businesses, especially in the digital space.

“This investment demonstrates how we, at Ayala, look at innovation and growth opportunities. We see the potential of e-commerce in the country, and believe that the Ayala group can benefit and add tremendous value to Zalora. With resources in banking, real estate, and telecommunications, the investment presents new opportunities for Ayala to generate synergies throughout the e-commerce value chain,” said Ayala Corporation chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.

“With the rising demands of the communities that we serve, we believe new business models such as Zalora’s can provide alternative solutions and services that are complementary to our traditional brick and mortar operations,” he added.

Zalora Philippines was co-founded in 2012 as part of the global network of the Zalora Group, which is 100% owned by Global Fashion Group (GFG).

GFG is a venture of Rocket Internet and is the world’s largest online fashion platform for emerging markets.

Aside from e-commerce, Ayala Corporation, through its subsidiaries, recently invested in online pharmacy MedGrocer and partnered with Chinese online payment giant Ant Financial. – Rappler.com