Online marketplace Carousell has gained a new shareholder in OLX Group, a classifieds firm owned by South Africa-headquartered Internet firm and technology investor Naspers.

Last night, it was announced that Carousell has acquired OLX Philippines (part of OLX Group), an online classifieds site in the Philippines that it said has more than six million monthly unique users. The total deal value is worth US$56 million (S$75.7 million) and gives OLX Group an approximate 10 per cent stake in Carousell, according to a statement. The investment from Naspers values Carousell at over US$550 million, it added.

According to an earlier Business Times report, Carousell also appointed a new director, Dutch national Sjoerd Nikkelen, on April 5, based on a filing with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra).

A search on LinkedIn lists an individual of the same name as OLX's general manager for Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

It also reported that OLX's entry dilutes the stake of Carousell's single-largest shareholder, Rakuten Europe, from 33.5 per cent to 29.6 per cent. The second-largest shareholder, Sequoia Capital India, now holds 15.8 per cent of Carousell.

The start-up's three founders, Mr Marcus Tan, Mr Quek Siu Rui and Mr Lucas Ngoo, now each own 8.75 per cent of the company, down from 9.9 per cent.

Naspers is a prolific technology investor, perhaps best known for its early bet on Chinese tech giant Tencent.