Rocket Internet sold half of its Middle East ventures operating under the Middle East Internet Holding (MEIH) to 
MTN for EUR 300 million in December 2013. This deal comes just days after MTN bought one-third of Rocket Internet and Millicom International Cellular’s Africa ventures registered as Africa Internet Holding (AIH) Currently, MEIH runs Easy Taxi, Lamudi, Hello Food and Namshi in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.
MTN Group President and CEO was very excited about this deal. He said ”The agreement with Rocket marks yet another important milestone in our journey of pursuing digital business adjacencies as one of our key strategic priorities, to drive growth and value for our customers,”
Is MTN going into deals it will regret as Rocket Internet is after a quick exit. Is the Berlin-based incubator looking at reducing its risks and probably invest in more ventures elsewhere?
Or this could be a remarkable deal for MTN as it may use Rocket Internet’s successful internet business models combined with its telecoms experience.
The 300 million Euros will be invested in AIH and MEIH within the space of two to four years.
