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Takealot

South African e-commerce business launched in 2011 after the Take2 acquisition, later combined with Kalahari and brought under Naspers control.

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Blue Takealot-branded three-wheeled delivery vehicle parked beside a pavement.
Takealot-branded delivery vehicle. The source dates this file photograph to 25 March 2026 according to EXIF data. It does not depict the 2015 merger. Resized and converted to WebP without cropping. Photo: Axxter99 / Wikimedia Commons · Source · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP without cropping. Adaptation available under the same licence.

Takealot is a South African e-commerce business associated with founder Kim Reid. The current business dates to 2011, when the team built Takealot out of the acquired Take2 operation; Takealot itself describes Reid as its founder and chief executive during the company’s first decade. [1]

History

Takealot’s own 2021 account calls the group a start-up that grew from a warehouse in Montague Gardens and identifies Kim Reid as founder and chief executive. Naspers’s 2021 annual report also identifies Reid as Takealot’s founder and CEO and describes the group as comprising Takealot.com, Superbalist.com and Mr D Food. [1][2]

The founder label applies to Takealot in its 2011 form, not to the older Take2 business that preceded it. This distinction matters when describing the company’s origin: Reid founded the relaunched Takealot business rather than the original Take2 website. [1]

The official group timeline places the Take2 acquisition by Kim Reid and Tiger Global in 2010, followed by Takealot.com’s launch in 2011. It records the Kalahari merger in 2015. The predecessor acquisition and later merger are separate events. [3]

The Commission announced conditional approval of the Kalahari merger on 6 January 2015. Its employment conditions capped merger-related retrenchments at 200 and required a reskilling fund. This does not establish an actual retrenchment count. [4]

Investment, equity and control

The 2017 Tribunal reasons describe the Naspers subsidiary’s proposed increase from 47.08% to 58.26%. The new A-class shares did not automatically grant extra votes. Conversion and business-plan veto rights were separate control mechanisms. [5]

Naspers’s FY2018 report records US$74 million invested in August 2017 and a further December share purchase valued at US$128 million. After the latter, the group held 96% effective ownership, or 91% fully diluted. These are dated measures, not current voting percentages. [6]

The FY2026 Naspers structure chart shows a wholly owned chain to Takealot, separate from Naspers’s investment in Prosus. The parent field therefore identifies indirect Naspers ownership rather than treating Naspers and Prosus as interchangeable legal parents. [7]

Frequently asked questions

Was Kalahari the old Takealot name?

No. Take2 was the acquired predecessor. Kalahari was a separate retailer in the 2015 merger. [3][4]

Is Naspers’s 96% figure still current?

It is the effective-interest figure reported for FY2018. The FY2026 group chart shows a wholly owned chain instead. [6][7]

Did the 2017 share subscription automatically add equal voting rights?

No. The Tribunal distinguished A-class equity from voting rights, with conversion and veto provisions. [5]

Key milestones

  1. Takealot began operating under its current identity with Kim Reid as founder and chief executive. [1]

  2. Reid began transitioning from day-to-day leadership towards the chairmanship of the group. [1]

  3. Take2 acquisition recorded in the group timeline. [3]

  4. Conditional Kalahari merger approval announced. [4]

  5. Naspers reported acquiring control through additional investment. [6]

  6. Further shareholder interests acquired, producing 96% effective interest. [6]

  7. FY2026 structure chart showed a wholly owned chain to Takealot. [7]

Founded / co-founded by

  • Kim Reid — South African entrepreneur who co-acquired Take2, founded Takealot in its 2011 form and led its first operating decade.

Related articles

Related institutions

  • Naspers — South African group incorporated in 1915, transformed through internet investment and retaining voting control of separately listed Prosus.
  • Take2 — Historical e-commerce business acquired by Kim Reid and Tiger Global in 2010, before the formal Takealot.com launch in 2011.
  • Kalahari.com — Historical online retailer combined with Takealot in 2015, in a transaction that also changed the principal shareholders’ interests.
  • Tiger Global Management — New York investment firm and historical financial backer of Takealot, involved in the Take2 acquisition and subsequent funding.
  • MIH Ecommerce Holdings — Naspers subsidiary identified as Takealot’s acquiring shareholder in the 2017 Tribunal decision, with distinct equity and control rights.

Sources

  1. Takealot, Kim Reid to become Takealot Group Chairman, 2021-02-26. Original source. Accessed 2026-09-25. ↩
  2. Naspers, Annual Report 2021, 2021-03-31. Original source. Accessed 2026-09-25. ↩
  3. Takealot Group, Our Journey: Take2 acquisition, launch, investment and Kalahari merger. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
  4. Competition Commission South Africa, Statement on merger decisions, 6 January 2015: Takealot and Kalahari, page 1, 2015-01-06. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
  5. Competition Tribunal South Africa, LM038May17: MIH Ecommerce Holdings and Takealot, reasons paragraphs 3–16, 2017-08-25. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
  6. Naspers, Integrated Annual Report 2018: etail page 39 and acquisition disclosures page 105. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-18. ↩
  7. Naspers, Integrated Annual Report 2026: group structure, printed page 39. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-18. ↩