Amazon Makes Play For Middle East Market

According to CNN, Amazon has had its eye on the Middle East for some time and has finally made a move. Amazon has agreed to buy the region's biggest e-commerce platform, Souq.com. 

Souq said in a statement, "Joining the Amazon family will enable souq.com to continue growing while working with Amazon to bring even more products and offerings to customers worldwide". 

The statement did not disclose the size of the deal. CB Insights valued Souq at more than a billion dollars, after it raised $275 million from investors last year. Souq does not disclose financial information.

When Souq started out, e-commerce was virtually unknown in the Middle East. Back then, the company employed five people in Dubai. Now it has 3,000 workers across the Arab world and sells more than 8 million products in 31 categories.