Last week, just days after Elementaree.ru secured a $5 million round of funding, Mail.ru Group and Sberbank announced plans to acquire another Russian food delivery startup called Samokat. The tech group and the financial giant – which are both listed on Western exchanges – are committed to acquire 75.6% of the service, according to corporate statements cited …
Mail.Ru and Sberbank to acquire food delivery service Samokat Read More
Playrix, a global Russian-founded gaming giant, announced today the acquisition of Armenian game studio Plexonic. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The Yerevan-based team, still led by Plexonic’s founder and CEO Gevorg Sargsyan, has already started developing a new casual mobile game, according to a corporate statement. “Together with the talented Plexonic team, we will …
After Belarus and Ukraine, Russian gaming giant Playrix acquires studio in Armenia Read More
Avito, the Russian online classifieds giant – which Naspers acquired in 2015-2019 for nearly $3 billion – has purchased a controlling stake (51%) in Russian software publisher MaxPoster. Operating from its Moscow and St. Petersburg offices, this company provides software solutions to estimate the value of used cars, manage classifieds to sell the cars, and …
Avito acquires controlling stake in used car software publisher Read More
Veeam Software, a global leader in cloud data management software, is to be acquired by top software investor Insight Partners. The deal, which values Veeam at “approximately $5 billion,” is expected to be closed in March. “Veeam has enjoyed rapid global growth over the last decade and we see tremendous opportunity for future growth, particularly …
Russian-founded Veeam Software sold for $5 billion to major US investor Read More
BlaBlaCar, the carpooling giant born in France, is expanding to a new market segment with the acquisition of international bus ticketing platform Busfor. The deal, announced in September, has just been completed after obtaining the required antitrust permits in Ukraine, reports Kyiv Post. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but it might …
BlaBlaCar completes acquisition of bus ticketing platform Busfor Read More
Crunchbase and East-West Digital News are teaming up to cover key tech and venture trends from Russia and neighboring countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Since January 2019, EWDN chief editor Adrien Henni has offered a monthly column to highlight the most notable industry facts and trends as well as promising tech innovations from these countries. The November review highlights moves …
Sberbank, the Russian state-controlled financial and technological giant, is making its first steps on the young and vibrant market of driverless vehicles. The bank announced last week its partnership with Cognitive Technologies, a Russian software corporation that develops AI-based driver assistance systems. Founded in 1993, this company offers a variety of components for unmanned vehicles …
Sberbank enters driverless car market, posing a new challenge to Yandex Read More
Russia’s biggest mobile phone operator MTS said on Monday it had agreed to sell its Ukrainian business to Azerbaijan’s Bakcell for $734 million. The company also said its board had approved a special dividend of 13.25 rubles ($0.21) per ordinary share, or 26.5 billion rubles ($420 million) in total. “Given the small share of our …
Russia’s top mobile operator sells Ukrainian business Read More
Yesterday Sberbank, the state-controlled financial giant, and LSE-listed Mail.Ru Group signed binding agreements concerning their JV partnership in the fields of food delivery and taxi hailing. As previously announced: The deal puts Mail.Ru’s Delivery Club and CitiMobil businesses, plus Sberbank’s own FoodPlex arm into a single joint venture. The two partners will invest “up to …
Sberbank extends ownership and partnership with Mail.Ru Read More
Crunchbase and East-West Digital News are teaming up to cover key tech and venture trends from Russia and neighboring countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Since January 2019, EWDN chief editor Adrien Henni has offered a monthly column to highlight the most notable industry facts and trends as well as promising tech innovations from these countries. The October review highlights the …
Andrey Andreev, the Russian-born online dating tycoon, has sold his business MagicLab to Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms. The deal valued the company “at approximately $3 billion,” the firm stated, without providing any more details. MagicLab touts itself as the company that “invented how people meet in the modern, mobile age,” “connecting and transformed …
Andrey Andreev sells Badoo, Bumble to Blackstone at $3 billion valuation Read More
Litres, a leading Russian e-book company, has acquired a majority (51%) stake in Eesti Digiraamatute Keskus OÜ (Estonian Digital Book Centre or EDRK). The details of the transactions were not disclosed. EDRK is an online wholesale e-book platform which controls 90% of the Estonian market, according to company statements cited by Vedomosti. Litres hopes to replicate in …
Russian e-book leader Litres expands to Poland, Baltic states and Finland Read More
