Finance

Russian game giant Playrix acquires Ukrainian game studio

November 5, 2019

Last week Playrix, a global Russian-founded gaming giant, announced the acquisition of Ukrainian game studio Zagrava Games.  Founded in 2003 (known as ‘Friends’ Games’ at that time), this game development service company is located in Rivne (Rovno), Western Ukraine, and employs 60 people. Its creations include ‘Greedy Bunnies,’ ‘The Hunt for Red Panda’  and ‘Chasing Chaster.’  Among its clients …

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Sberbank to acquire $170 million stake in Mail.ru Group

October 31, 2019

Sberbank, Russia’s state-controlled financial giant, intends to purchase a $170 million stake in Mail.ru Group. As announced yesterday, the deal will see Sberbank buy into a company called MF Technologies, which owns a majority of Mail.Ru’s voting rights, from Gazprombank — another state-owned Russian financial outfit. Sberbank’s 35% stake in MF Technologies would give it …

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Mail.ru Group’s Dmitry Sergeev: “Our e-commerce JV will actively develop social and domestic dimensions”

November 14, 2019

Earlier this month Mail.Ru Group and Alibaba completed their e-commerce joint venture deal with participation from jointly with Russian telco MegaFon and sovereign fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). This JV will leverage on the existing businesses of AliExpress Russia, the B2C marketplace owned by Alibaba which controls the bulk of e-commerce flows between China and …

Mail.ru Group’s Dmitry Sergeev: “Our e-commerce JV will actively develop social and domestic dimensions” Read More

ID Finance secures $2 million in minutes on crowdfunding platform

November 12, 2019

Update Nov. 12: ID finance finally closed the crowdfunding campaign one week ahead of schedule. The company raised £4.95 million ($6.36 million) in total, more than three times as much as the initial target. ID Finance, a Barcelona-based fintech company with Russian roots, claims to have raised nearly $2 million in just a few minutes last …

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Russia’s Yandex and Mail.Ru report strong growth despite ownership threats

October 28, 2019

Russia’s flagship tech companies, LSE-listed Mail.Ru Group and NASDAQ-listed Yandex, both reported strong third-quarter results amid ongoing concerns over government proposals to limit foreign ownership in Russia’s largest technology companies. With revenues and earnings up at both companies, representatives confirmed they were lobbying the government to water down the potentially damaging legislation to the two …

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Mail.ru Group, Alipay, USM, MegaFon and RDIF team up to launch e-wallet JV

October 28, 2019

Earlier this month Alipay, Mail.ru Group, mobile operator MegaFon, sovereign fund RDIF and Alisher Usmanov’s holding USM agreed to create a joint venture focused on digital payment services in Russia. Their initiative is presented as being “part of efforts to promote financial inclusion” and “upgrade the country’s digital payment services.” The JV will integrate two existing …

Mail.ru Group, Alipay, USM, MegaFon and RDIF team up to launch e-wallet JV Read More

Yandex.Taxi completes acquisition of food delivery startup

November 12, 2020

Yandex.Taxi, the taxi-hailing company which merged activities in Russia and some neighboring countries with Uber last year, has completed the acquisition of Partiya Edy  (‘The Party of Food’). Yandex.Taxi had acquired a 83.3% stake in this startup in October 2018. The remaining 16.7% stake has been transfered to Yandex.Taxi for an undisclosed amount. Created in 2014, Partiya Edy …

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Yandex shares bounce back as Russia softens foreign ownership rules

October 21, 2019

Shares in the NASDAQ-listed Russian tech giant Yandex have jumped higher on reports Russia will soften proposals to limit foreign ownership of strategically important tech firms. The government is now considering placing a 50%-minus-one cap on the number of shares that can be held by non-Russian investors — up from the 20% limit proposed in a draft …

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Blockchain-based crowdfunding platform prepares for launch as Russian legislation clarifies

October 21, 2019

Earlier this month Da Vinci Capital – a major EBRD-backed and PE firm focusing on Russia and neighboring countries – announced an investment of 100 million rubles ($1.57 million at the current exchange rate) in BitRussia. BitRussia presents itself as an international blockchain-based crowdfunding platform. It aims to put together projects and investors using distributed ledgers, asset …

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Runa Capital takes part in €15 million Series B round in France

October 17, 2019

Last week the French-founded customer feedback startup Critizr announced the completion of a €15 million Series B round led by 83North Venture Capital, a global VC giant. Runa Capital, an international VC with Russian roots – which already backed the startup in 2015 – contributed an undisclosed amount to the round. Founded in France in …

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US startup Occipital absorbs GeoCV team to launch R&D activities in Moscow

October 18, 2019

US computer vision startup Occipital is launching an R&D office in Moscow, having absorbed the team of GeoCV, a startup with Russian roots. “By joining the teams we will enable new computer vision applications, which bring value to consumers and businesses,” said Gleb Krivovyaz, GeoCV co-founder and CTO. “Teaching devices to see and understand the world in …

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