Mail.Ru Group, the LSE-listed Russian Internet giant, has enlarged its product portfolio by purchasing, through its subsidiaries, stakes in Moscow-based Ticketing Platform and Helsinki-based game developer Panzerdog.
On May 22, Mail.ru Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of Mail.ru Group, purchased a 27.08% stake in Ticketing Platform, Rusbase reported. The amount of the deal was not disclosed.
The deal came just two months after company launch. According to the official company registry, it was founded on March 22, 2019 by Elena Tumen and Roman Kosintsev, who now own 41.46% and 31.46% of the company, respectively. Both are are known as the founders of the TIWO ticketing aggregator, which has been operating in the entertainment industry in Russia since 2017.
Among other things, Ticketing Platform will work in such areas as software development, booking tickets for shows and events, and provide infopublishing services.
From capital injection to acquisition
Almost simultaneously MY.GAMES, the new global gaming entity of Mail.Ru Group, acquired a major stake in Panzerdog, a gaming studio known for its mobile shooting game Tacticool. The financial details of the deal, which was reported by industry publications, were not disclosed.
Established in 2016 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Panzerdog was the first studio to start working with Mail.Ru Games Ventures (MRGV), consequently receiving 800,000 euros in seed funding from it. The money allowed the studio to complete Tacticool’s development.
Mail.ru Group’s most recent investment or acquisition deals involved online recruiting service Worki (May 2019), online education platform Skillbox (February 2019) as well as four Russian gaming companies via MRGV (late 2018).
