CHINESE classified advertising site 58.com Inc. said Friday that it had agreed to buy a 43.2 percent stake in rival Ganji.com, marking further consolidation in the country’s hot technology sector.

    In February, China’s two leading taxi-hailing apps Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache agreed to merge, creating a US$6 billion company.

    New York-listed 58.com, dubbed the Craigslist of China and backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd., said it would issue 34 million new ordinary shares and pay $412.2 million in cash to acquire the stake in Ganji.com. At the current market price, the deal is valued at US$1.6 billion, according to Reuters calculations.

    A person with direct knowledge of the matter however said the acquisition price was about US$1.2 billion. 58.com declined to comment on the acquisition value.

    58.com is buying the stake from Ganji.com shareholders, including private equity firms Tiger Global Management, Carlyle Group and CITIC Capital, venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Nokia Growth Partners and Ganji.com’s employees and management, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

    (SD-Agencies)