Tradus

Infobox Dotcom company
company_name = Tradus
company_
company_type = Wholly-owned subsidiary
company_slogan = "Europe's online trading community"
foundation = flagicon|UK London, UK (1997)
location_city = London
location_country = UK
key_people = Christian Unger, CEO
Simon Duffy, Chairman
Robert Dighero, CFO
area_served = Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom
num_employees = 416 (March 2007)
industry = Auctions, Electronic commerce
revenue = profit£36.4 million GBP
(2006/07)
operating_income = profit£9.5 million GBP
(2006/07)
net_income = profit£6.7 million GBP
(2006/07)
products = Online auction hosting, Online payment systems, Price comparison service, Online classified adverts
owner = Naspers
homepage = [http://www.tradus.com/ www.tradus.com]
website_type = online auction
language = Multilingual
registration = required to buy and sell

Tradus is an online auction company that operates in Europe. The company, a subsidiary of South African media group Naspers since March 2008, operates across Europe using many different brands.

History

Tradus (formerly QXL) was founded in London in 1997 by Financial Times journalist Tim Jackson and has operations in major European markets.

In 1999, QXL was simultaneously floated on the London Stock Exchange as well as the Nasdaq exchange in New York. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/467701.stm Business: The Company File QXL shares modest rise on debut] . Retrieved on April 30, 2007.] [http://www.guardian.co.uk/netshares/Story/0,,202699,00.html QXL.com float price collapses] ] . Also in 1999 the company secured the rights to sell off pieces of the famous Wembley Stadium [http://www.guardian.co.uk/efinance/article/0,,390422,00.html QXL opens bidding with live Wembley auction] ] , which was being demolished and rebuilt. QXL also managed to prise Hugh Scully, host of Antiques Roadshow, away from the BBC to front its antiques business [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/480680.stm Scully joins net auctioneers] ] .

In March 2000 QXL acquired Allegro of Poland for $75,000 and in November 2000, QXL merged with its European rival ricardo.de of Germany. The new company was named QXL ricardo and remained based in London. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/750263.stm QXL in German merger] . Retrieved on April 30, 2007.] [http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/doing/ukla/pdf/qxl_ricardo.pdf QXL Ricardo Plc Shelf Document] . Retrieved on April 30, 2007.]

Late in 2000, QXL became the first British member of an elite gang of dotcoms which saw their stock lose 99 per cent of their value, shares which were valued at £8.00 being worth only 6.5p [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/21/qxl_shares_going_going_gone/ QXL shares going going gone] ] . However more recently this trend has been reversed and in 2005 has seen the share ranked as the best performing on the LSE [http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/article336247.ece Winners and Losers: Online auctioneer fetches best price of 2005] ]

Through an illegal issue of shares in December 2002, a Poznań-based Polish lawyer signed over control of the Allegro operation to the local Managing Director. QXL contested the transfer from 2003. The lawyer involved was convicted of fraud in September 2004, but it wasn't until June 2006 when a settlement was reached that Allegro returned to QXL ownership. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3645774.stm Rogue lawyer 'guilty' in QXL case] . Retrieved on April 30, 2007.] [http://www.qxl.co.uk/contents/uk/qxlmediacenter/Articles/060629_PL_Settlement_Press_Release.pdf Conditional agreement to settle litigation and obtain control and ownership of QXL Poland] . Retrieved on April 30, 2007.]

In November 2004 QXL was the subject of a so-called take private initiative whereby the management team remained in place [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/29/qxl_sells_itself/ QXL sells itself for £12m] ] . This in turn led to a takeover battle with the Dutch firm Florissant [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4173487.stm QXL faces hostile takeover bid] ] . In the end, Florissant and a group of Israeli investors each ended up with large shareholdings and the company remained publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange. With the dispute over the ownership of QXL Poland resolved, QXL Poland successfully merged with the profitable and growing plc, QXL's CEO of the past six years, Mark Zaleski, resigned. A new chairman (Simon Duffy from NTL) and new CEO (Christian Unger) were hired on 31st January and 30th April 2007 respectively. The proforma revenues of the Group grew 53% last year.

In its interim results, released on 18th October, the company announced that on the 8th October 2007 it had completed its move into Russia with the acquisition of a 30% stake in the Russian online trading site (Molotok.ru) also, that it had opened up operations in both Bulgaria and Romania further demonstrating its commitment to move firmly into the ever-expanding Eastern Europe market.

On the 7th November 2007, after a sharp rise in the company's share price, the company announced that it had received a preliminary approach from a potential bidder who was unnamed. Intense press speculation [http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=hotStocksNews&storyID=2007-11-07T135743Z_01_L07314029_RTRIDST_0_QXL-APPROACH-UPDATE-2.XML QXL Ricardo shares jump after approach] ] [http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=53697828620916 ebay buying QXL Ricardo with eyes on Eastern] ] [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article2827362.ece ebay tipped as suitor in bid approach for QXL Ricardo] ] arose as to who the potential bidder may be, with the likes of Ebay and the recently floated Alibaba leading the pack. This was further supported by various press articles in mid-December announcing that the potential purchaser was the South African media company Naspers, reportedly paying in the region of £17 per share or about £750 million. [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3055751.ece Buy it now: online auction house sold for £750m] ] Although Naspers is mainly based in South Africa it has lately been broadening its geographic reach and had recently acquired Polish instant-messaging company, Gadu-Gadu.

The offer to take over Tradus was formally announced on 18th December 2007 at £18 per share, valuing the company at some £946 million. [http://www.tradus.com/news-item?item=56416543336883 Naspers Limited - Offer for Tradus PLC] ] [http://www.naspers.co.za/pdfs/NASPERS_ENG.pdf Recommended cash offer for Tradus plc] ] [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1/da97695c-ad4b-11dc-9386-0000779fd2ac,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html Naspers bids for Tradus] ]

On 21st November 2007 the company announced that it had received permission from its shareholders to change the name to Tradus plc.

On 5th December 2007 Tradus announced that long-serving CFO, Robert Dighero, would be stepping down on 1st January 2008 to be replaced by the ex-CFO of EBay Germany, Helmut Bernhardt. The move was principally due to the decision to relocate the main Finance function of the Group to Zug Switzerland instead of London. Robert had been with the Group since 1999 and had seen it through its expansion and its leaner times as it struggled to survive.

The acquisition of Tradus by Naspers was concluded on 7 March, 2008, when the company was delisted from the London Stock Exchange. [cite news
last=Kew
first=Janice
title=South African Stocks: Gold Fields, Naspers and Tiger Brands
url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=a2krIqd1A58g&refer=africa
publisher=Bloomberg
date=7 March, 2008
accessdate=2008-03-07]

On 6th May 2008 it was announced that the UK QXL site will close on the 30th May 2008.

European Operations

Tradus operates a business model similar to eBay. Therefore it tends to concentrate in countries where eBay is either not present nor is the market leader and where Tradus is (or can be) market leader [http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/article2393349.ece Small Talk: Dotcom survivor is a Euro-rival eBay would do well to bid for] ] .

Acquisitions

ee also

*Online auction business model
*Electronic commerce

References

External links

* [http://www.tradus.com Tradus]