Mail.Ru Group, the LSE-listed Russian Internet giant, and Vezet (“it’s giving a ride” or “to be in luck” in Russian), a major taxi aggregator in Russia, have inked a convertible loan agreement which is described as “part of the preparation for a new round of investment.”
Neither the terms, nor the amount of the deal, which was announced on June 22, have been disclosed.
“Participation in this investment round is absolutely in line with our strategy in the taxi market,” commented Boris Dobrodeyev, Mail.Ru’s CEO.
“First of all, we will not consolidate our investment. Secondly, this partnership gives us the opportunity to continue integrating taxi to our services, including social media in the first place. Not only will the partnership strengthen our position on the Moscow market, it will allow us to introduce our offer to other regions. The [Vezet] service is active in over 100 cities and is a leader in the majority of them,” he added.
This past spring the Internet giant teamed up with Megafon to acquire a majority stake in CityMobil, a Moscow-based taxi-hailing service, for $26 million.
