Following the merger, eMAG becomes majority shareholder of the new entity, with a 52% stake. Extreme Digital was established in 2001 by Balázs Várkonyi and Gyula Kelemen, the most powerful entrepreneurs in the technology sector in Hungary.
In early 2019, eMAG CEO Iulian Stanciu said, when the merger was announced, that the development of eMAG in the region will intensify after the merger, creating the premises for expansion to the countries where Extreme Digital already operates.
Dante International, the company that administers eMAG, the largest online store in Romania, reported a turnover increase of over fivefold, between 2013 and 2018, which translates into the largest business growth among the large IT&C companies on the local market, according to Finance Ministry data, analysed by ZF. In 2012, Naspers bought 70% of eMAG shares from Sebastian Ghita, Iulian Stanciu and Radu Apostolescu, for over $80 million, and it subsequently funded the retailer’s expansion with over $230 million.