Ulmart, the leading Russian e-commerce company, whose sales exceeded $1 billion last year, is in the process of acquiring Satellite Company, which operates No Limit Electronics, a leading distributor and retailer of digital TV equipment.
Satellite Company, which expects a turnover of around $375 million this year, has been valued “somewhere between $200 million and $300 million,” Ulmart co-owner Dmitry Kostygin told Russian business daily Vedomosti.
Ulmart is acquiring the company in full, and after the deal closes, NLE, the former owner of the company, will be a minority shareholder, Kostygin said.
There are plans to close the offline stores after the deal is concluded.
Ulmart is looking for growing markets and categories of goods that it can use with its experience, contacts and enormous customer base.
The popularity of satellite television is growing, GetIntent.com founder and former ad director of E5.ru Georgy Levin said. Ulmart, as one of the largest Internet stores, can become an excellent distribution channel for Tricolor, he added. “It’s an enormous traffic channel and it is completely logical to add new products and services to that channel. Thus, Ulmart will strengthen Tricolor by creating a powerful distribution channel, and Tricolor will strengthen Ulmart by expanding its product line,” Levin told Oborot.ru, a leading industry publication.
Earlier this year, Ulmart launched a new field of activity, ‘Ulmart Travel,’ allowing its users to search and purchase of airline tickets. The online retail giant also invested $6.5 million in Dream Industries to develop digital content platforms.
According to a research study by East-West Digital News, the Russian online retail market amounted to more than $16 billion last year, up nearly 30% from 2012. This figure does not include the cross-border segment, which reached an estimated $3 billion, almost doubling every year.
