Gleiss Lutz advised Naspers on its investment in Berlin-based used-car platform Frontier Car Group (FCG) through OLX Ventures, the investment arm of Naspers' subsidiary OLX Group. This is Frontier Car Group's second multi-million investment round within one month following a first one involving international investors. This current round has seen OLX Ventures injecting US$ 89 million into FCG, funds that will be used to expand the markets in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
OLX Ventures belongs to Netherlands-based global online marketplace provider OLX Group, which is in turn part of South African media group Naspers. In addition to household items and smartphones, used cars are already being sold via the OLX online platform. The intention behind the investment in FCG is to simplify the purchasing process for used cars. OLX operates in 40 countries and has some 330 million users worldwide.
The Frontier Car Group is a global company with operations in five countries, including its headquarters in Berlin. It has set up online portals in emerging markets such as Chile, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
Led by Dr. Martin Viciano Gofferje (partner, Berlin) and Dr. Ralf Morshäuser (partner, both corporate/M&A, Munich), the following Gleiss Lutz team advised Naspers on all aspects of German law in connection with the transaction: Dr. Micha Christopher Pfarr, Dr. Julius Scheifele (both corporate/M&A, Berlin), Dr. Stefan Lingemann (partner), Josefine Chakrabarti, Dr. Constance Karwatzki (all employment, Berlin), Dr. Hannah Bug (IP/IT, Berlin) and Dr. Fabian Kutz (real estate, Berlin).
The US aspects of the transaction were handled by Gunderson Dettmer, a renowned US law firm with whom Gleiss Lutz has teamed up with on many occasions. Gleiss Lutz frequently advises on venture capital and tech transactions, including high-volume financing rounds such as, latterly, for the investment in biotechnology experts BioNTech and for online used-car platforms Auto 1 and InstaMotion.
Forward
