M&A

Glorious story but modest exit for online fashion pioneer KupiVIP

July 9, 2021

Update July 9: Yandex announced the cancellation of the deal, for undisclosed reasons, according to media reports. The company is considering “other options to enter the fashion segment.” Yandex.Market is in the process of acquiring KupiVIP, one of the most established e-commerce brands in Russia, founded back in 2008 by German entrepreneur Oskar Hartmann. Also …

Glorious story but modest exit for online fashion pioneer KupiVIP Read More

Sber acquires CRM startup Jivo for reportedly more than $20 million

June 22, 2021

Earlier this month Sber, the state-controlled financial and technology giant (previously known as Sberbank), announced the full acquisition of Jivo. This Russian startup — which has legal entities both in Russia and in Delaware — has developed an omnichannel application for customer support and online sales. Jivo’s solution combines a chat function for websites with …

Sber acquires CRM startup Jivo for reportedly more than $20 million Read More

Russian-born social commerce major Ecwid sold to Canadian Lightspeed for $500 million

June 9, 2021

After Veeam Software, Wrike and Magic Lab — to cite just a few recent examples — this is yet another happy exit for a Russian entrepreneur established in the West. Ecwid, a Russian-rooted provider of social commerce solutions for small businesses, is in the process of being acquired by Canadian Lightspeed. This Toronto-listed online and offline retail software major says it is buying …

Russian-born social commerce major Ecwid sold to Canadian Lightspeed for $500 million Read More

After pandemic boosted gaming usage, Mail.Ru acquires cloud gaming startup

June 4, 2021

Mail.ru Group is in the process of acquiring game streaming startup Playkey. Through this acquisition, the LSE-listed Russian Internet major intends to “develop Playkey solutions within [its cloud gaming service] My.Games Cloud and scale cloud gaming in Russia.” Last week the group announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in the company — 80.05% according to the Russian company …

After pandemic boosted gaming usage, Mail.Ru acquires cloud gaming startup Read More

Sberbank promises to double online ecosystem investments over the next three years

May 5, 2021

In September last year Sberbank, the state-controlled financial and digital giant, rebranded itself to just ‘Sber,’ dropping the word “bank” from its name, but the change has not really caught on. The management is now ramping up its rebranding drive and has promised to double investment into building its new “bank plus everything else” online …

Sberbank promises to double online ecosystem investments over the next three years Read More

Sber chairman concedes “complex problems” with Mail.Ru, but dismisses divorce rumors

April 30, 2021

Sber and Mail.ru Group are not on the brink of divorce, said Sber’s chairman Herman Gref in a media interview last week, dismissing repeated rumors and reports. Gref conceded that “complex problems” do occur with Mail.Ru, since their respective ecosystems partly intersect, but “we have very good relations and do find solutions.”  There is less …

Sber chairman concedes “complex problems” with Mail.Ru, but dismisses divorce rumors Read More

Yandex and Tinkoff announce fintech acquisitions

April 30, 2021

Two acquisitions were announced yesterday in the Russian fintech space. Yandex, the NASDAQ-listed digital major, agreed to fully purchase Acropol Bank. The deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval, amounts to 1.1 billion rubles (approximately $14.7 million).  “The strategic rationale for the transaction is to obtain a banking license required to develop the Yandex fintech vertical and launch comprehensive …

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Eastern Europe quarterly review: Major deals secured abroad; local startups escape political turmoil

April 28, 2021

Crunchbase and East-West Digital News are teaming up to cover key tech and venture trends from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The last column by EWDN Chief Editor Adrien Henni highlights the most notable industry facts and trends in the first quarter of 2021. Almost no major local deals took place in this period, but Eastern …

Eastern Europe quarterly review: Major deals secured abroad; local startups escape political turmoil Read More

Yandex acquires tip automation startup to offer full-cycle foodtech services

April 28, 2021

Tip automation startups are much-desired in Russia right now, if judging by an acquisition announced by Yandex, just weeks after another one from Alfa-Bank.  The NASDAQ-listed search giant is now the owner of Chaevye Prosto (‘Just Tips’) — a startup founded in 2018 by Evgeny Zagoruyko and his wife, who spent much of the family’s savings to develop the service.  The terms of the …

Yandex acquires tip automation startup to offer full-cycle foodtech services Read More

Russian mapping major 2GIS acquires Belarusian geo-marketing startup

April 28, 2021

2GIS, a leading mapping service owned by Sber, is in the process of acquiring RocketData, a successful geomarketing startup from Belarus. Founded in 2017, RocketData provides an “easy-to-use platform to manage your company’s business information and user reviews among more than 30 location-based services” — from maps, search engines and directories, to GPS devices, to social networks. RocketData …

Russian mapping major 2GIS acquires Belarusian geo-marketing startup Read More

After a new acquisition, Sber wants to become a central player in the Russian digital music market

April 20, 2021

Yesterday Sber, the state-controlled financial and digital giant, announced a binding agreement to fully acquire  Muzlab, a leader in the Russian B2B audio streaming market. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed, but industry publication VC.RU heard it was between 500 million rubles ($6.5 million) and 1 billion rubles ($13 million at the current exchange rate).  Muzlab has developed a …

After a new acquisition, Sber wants to become a central player in the Russian digital music market Read More

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