Alibaba, eBay, CVC bid for Allegro - Reuters

Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba , US online retailer eBay and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners are among the bidders for Eastern Europe's top auction website Allegro from South Africa's Naspers,  sources told Reuters. A deal worth between €2 and €3 billion is expected by the end of the year, market sources said. Polish online groups Wp.pl, owned by Innova Capital, and Onet.pl, controlled by Ringier Axel Springer could also be interested, some sources said. "Allegro is a ready-made entry not only to Poland, but also into the region," one market source told Reuters. "Strategic bidders eBay and Alibaba will be hard to beat in the race, with Alibaba looking better positioned from the anti-monopoly point of view." Founded in 1999, Allegro is the largest e-commerce investment for Naspers - Africa's largest company by market value - since its acquisition in 2008.