Russian digital TV operator Tsifrovoe Televidenie (‘Digital Television’) has acquired a 25.1% stake in Greeder.ru, an online B2C marketplace launched recently, in a media-for-equity deal. The news was reported today in Russian business daily Kommersant based on exchanges with top company executives. Greeder’s founder Sergey Bazylev has kept a 52.43% stake, while the remaining 22.47% stake is owned by general manager Alexander Yesaulov.
Jointly owned by TV and radio giant VGTRK (58.71% stake) and telecom operator Rostelecom (41.29% stake), Tsifrovoe Televidenie operates more than TV channels on their behalf. These channels include ‘Mama,’ ‘Moya Planeta,’ ’24 Doc,’ ‘Istoriya,’ among others.
Launched in spring 2016, Greeder.ru operates in more than 140 Russian cities under a reverse auction model. The project required an initial investment of 15 million rubles (about $230,000 at the current exchange rate), Yesaulov told Kommersant.
This past summer, Greeder’s attracted some 15,000 users daily, generating from 300 to 600 reverse auction bids per day. More than a qurtre of these bids were accepted by the sellers.
The company is planning to open an office in Riga soon to cover the Baltic region, Yesulov said.
