Finance

Yandex warns against threats from state and oligarchs; Considers international expansion

May 2, 2011 May 2, 2011

Yandex, the Russian search giant that filed a registration statement with the SEC for a proposed IPO on NASDAQ last week, warned potential investors in its prospectus that it was as “vulnerable to politically motivated actions” as any other high-profile businesses in Russia. In the prospectus, Yandex acknowledges the risk of “other parties” perceiving its …

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Yandex prepares IPO; hopes for $9 billion valuation

April 28, 2011 April 28, 2011

Russia’s leading search engine Yandex announced that it has filed a registration statement with the SEC for a proposed IPO on NASDAQ, TechCrunch reports. According to the filing, the proposed maximum aggregate offering price amounts to $1 billion. A portion of the shares will be issued by Yandex, and a portion will be sold by certain …

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MTS to pay out $1.08 billion in 2010 dividends

April 28, 2011 April 28, 2011

MTS, a major Russian mobile operator and retailer, has announced plans to pay out $1.08 billion in 2010 dividends, which accounts for 70.08% of the company’s net profit for the year. The company’s dividend policy reportedly implies to direct at least 50% of profit on dividends.

Court Coursey of TomorrowVentures: “Russia is one the fastest growing markets on the planet”

April 27, 2011 April 27, 2011

TomorrowVentures, a US investment fund founded in 2009 by Google chairman Eric Schmidt, announced earlier this week the formation of a strategic partnership with Digital October, a Moscow-based cooperative work space and events organizer. Court Coursey, Managing Partner at TomorrowVentures, agreed to speak with EWDN on the subject of their new partnership.

Digital October to incubate startups with US fund; Gets $300 million backing from Russian investors

April 27, 2011 April 27, 2011

Digital October, a Moscow-based cooperative work space and events organizer created in 2010, and TomorrowVentures, a US investment fund founded in 2009 by Google chairman Eric Schmidt, announced yesterday the formation of a strategic partnership aimed, in particular, at selecting, financing and promoting Russian startups on international markets.

Rusnano to finance MRAM project with France’s Crocus Technology

April 27, 2011 April 27, 2011

Rusnano will finance the first production of MRAM memory chips in Russia in cooperation with Crocus Technology, based in Grenoble, France, the Russian press reported. Production will be organized through a technology transfer of chip design and packaging. The project will focus on producing Secure Digital (SD), MiniSD/MicroSD, and USB 1.1/2.0/3.0 flash memory cards.

MTS to buy Ufanet for $170-$180 million

April 22, 2011 April 22, 2011

MTS, a leading Russian mobile operator, intends to purchase Bashkortostan’s telecom operator Ufanet, Russian business daily Kommersant reports. In the fall of 2010 Megafon wanted to buy Ufanet but in the last moment changed decision because of the price of $170-$180 million.

Russian state-owned fund participates in Sugar Inc. round of financing

April 22, 2011 April 22, 2011

State-owned fund of funds Russian Venture Company (RVC) participated indirectly in a round of financing, announced last week, for Sugar Inc., a global media company for women. The investment was made through Russian Venture Capital II LP, a fully owned subsidiary of RVC that registered in the UK in June 2010. A few months later, the …

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Megafon to buy St. Petersburg’s Web Plus with $4 million debt

April 21, 2011 April 21, 2011

Megafon, a major Russian mobile operator, is considering purchasing St. Petersburg Internet provider Web Plus, Russian business daily Kommersant reports. The deal price has yet to be disclosed, but, according to experts, the price will be “symbolic”, since Web Plus is a loss-making firm with $4 million debt, the newspaper said. The seller is Telecominvest.

Armada successfully completes SPO on Russian stock exchanges

April 19, 2011 April 19, 2011

Armada, a Russian group offering software development and other IT services, announced last Friday that it sold 2.4 million additional shares for $13 each on Russia’s MICEX and RTS stock exchanges.

25 leading European VCs to discover innovative Russia

April 18, 2011 April 18, 2011

A trade delegation of 25 leading European venture capital firms and top executives of major international technology corporations is visiting Russia this week to participate in the Second International Trade Delegation on Global Innovation Partnerships (GIP).

DST backer cautious about investing in Internet companies as prices may have peaked

April 18, 2011 April 18, 2011

Prominent Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov told Bloomberg that his $500 million acquisition of a 5% stake in Chinese Web retailer 360buy.com in March may have been his last big direct Web investment for some time. In a phone interview with the financial news agency last Friday, Usmanov said, “Investments in Internet companies start to bring …

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