Russia’s largest social network, Vkontakte, may soon go under the full control of the Mail.ru Group, which is controlled by Kremlin-friendly oligarch Alisher Usmanov via his holding USM Holdings.
Negotiations regarding the acquisition of the remaining 48% ownership from investment fund UCP, headed by Ilya Sherbovich, are in the final stages, according to people close to the deal, reported Vedomosti last week.
According to one of the sources of the Russian business daily, the transaction could occur within a few weeks. Another source believes it could take more time.
Those close to the deal add that the buyer of UCP’s shares could be either the Mail.ru Group itself or a third party that is on good terms with the shareholders.
The valuation of Vkontakte is likely to mirror the original deal between the Mail.ru Group and Ivan Tavrin, CEO of Russian mobile operator MegaFon and Usmanov’s business partner, which valued the entire company at $2.9 billion, says the source. If so, the cost of 48% will stand at $1.4 billion. At the end of Q2 2014, the total cash reserves of Mail.ru Group stood at $706 million (at current exchange rates set by Russia’s Central Bank).
UCP became co-owner of Vkontakte in April 2013, purchasing 48% from Lev Leviev and Vyacheslav Mirilashvili, former partners of the social network’s founder Pavel Durov.
Representatives of USM Holdings, Mail.ru Group and UCP did not comment on Vedomosti’s report.
