Cellrox, a leader in Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Multi-Persona solutions for mobile devices, has secured $4.7 million in a Series A round led by Runa Capital, a Moscow-based international venture fund. The Israeli company’s existing investors, Previz Venture Partners, Columbia Technology Ventures, and others, have also participated in the round. The terms of the …
Last week Parallels announced that it secured an equity investment from Cisco to support joint go-to-market activities. The companies intend to strengthen collaboration towards accelerating customer adoption of Parallels cloud service delivery products with Cisco cloud and data center infrastructure solutions. The amount of the investment has not been disclosed, but Parallels press service confirmed to East-West Digital News …
Matchmaking site Teamo.ru has taken full ownership of its main competitor, Monamour.ru, gaining undisputed leadership of this market segment in Russia. The transaction, which took place in December, was confirmed to East-West Digital News by Teamo Managing Director Vladimir Schmidt. Schmidt said it was a cash transaction, but declined to disclose further financial information.
Alexander Turkot, who resigned this past fall from his position as director of Skolkovo‘s IT cluster , has announced the launch of a new venture fund, which he hopes will raise as much as $100 million. The fund has already received a commitment from Renova for “up to $50 million,” Turkot told East-West Digital News. …
Smartfin, a provider of mobile payment solutions in Russia, completed its $2 million Series A round of financing in mid-December. The startup, which operates under the brand ‘2can,’ has enjoyed the participation of Almaz Capital and InVenture, two major Russian venture funds, as well as of Cisco VP Bob Agee and other unnamed business angels. …
InVenture and Almaz inject $2 million into Square clone 2can Read More
A mere two weeks after an executive of his management company stated the opposite in an exchange with Bloomberg, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, the main shareholder of the Mail.ru Group, said he was willing to increase his group’s stake in Vkontakte.ru, Russia’s leading social network also known as VK.com. “If there is a reasonable market …
Vkontakte.ru ownership saga: Usmanov now plans to increase Mail.ru Group’s stake Read More
WebGames, a former game publisher now turned investor in game studios, has taken over Drimmi, a three-year-old Russian developer of games for social networks. The parties have not disclosed the deal’s value, but an anonymous source with knowledge of the transaction leaked to the Russian business daily Vedomosti that it could be in the millions …
WebGames continues buying spree, takes over game developer Drimmi Read More
Among the growing number of players competing on the Russian furniture and home decor online landscape, The Furnish, a site launched last week, demonstrates some originality. It focuses on the premium segment, claiming to be the first online furniture retailer with this specific positioning, and offering items in various styles, from ‘Country’ to ‘Eco-Style’ and …
New online furniture retailer serves ‘American bourgeois-style’ Russian shoppers Read More
Last October Germany’s giant startup incubator Rocket Internet invested $10 million in its portfolio company Mebelrama.ru, a Russian online furniture retailer. The transaction was revealed only this past Friday by Mebelrama co-founder Manuella Stoll in an interview with Russian business daily Kommersant. The investment will help Mebelrama enlarge its assortment, move to a new warehouse, …
Mebelrama.ru attracts $10 million from Rocket Internet as competition tightens Read More
Qiwi, a leading Russian payment operator, has picked Credit Suisse and JPMorgan for a New York IPO which it plans for the middle of next year, Reuters learned from “three sources familiar with the matter.” The company plans to float between 25 and 30% of its shares while the IPO would value it at $1 …
Swiss private equity fund Pluribus Optimum announced last week its plan to invest €100 million in e-commerce projects in Russia and neighboring countries by the end of 2015. The fund will focus on improving processing, document flow, billing organization, and payment acceptance in online stores, as well as 3PL logistics. “We have identified e-commerce as …
Swiss fund to invest €100 million in Russian ecommerce infrastructure and services Read More
Fastlane Ventures, one of the most active investors on the Russian Internet scene, has secured $13 million from Kenges Rakishev, a prominent businessman from Kazakhstan. Rakishev will be joining Fastlane Ventures’ board of directors, along with existing strategic investors VTB Capital, Direct Group, and e.ventures. Rakishev already serves as chairman of the boards of directors …
