Russian billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov’s holding company Sistema and its telecoms unit MTS have bought a combined 21.6% stake in one of Russia’s largest e-commerce businesses, Ozon Holdings, for US$150m.
Sistema and MTS, Russia’s largest mobile…
Russian billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov’s holding company Sistema and its telecoms unit MTS have bought a combined 21.6% stake in one of Russia’s largest e-commerce businesses, Ozon Holdings, for US$150m.
Sistema and MTS, Russia’s largest mobile operator, have each acquired 10.8% stakes in Ozon for US$75m, according to the parent company.
The companies have subscribed to new Ozon shares and the deal, which already has the necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, closed upon signing.
Two representatives from Sistema and MTS are now expected to join Ozon’s eight-member board of directors.
Ozon Holdings owns five e-commerce companies in Russia, including retailers Ozon.ru and Sapato.ru, travel agency Ozon.travel, delivery service O-Courier, and B2B consultancy Ozon Solutions.
Sistema president and CEO Mikhail Shamolin said the transaction provides an “excellent” entry point into the Russian e-commerce sector, which the group said is worth US$8-15bn and is expected to almost treble in size by 2018.
“Having captured over 16 million unique monthly visitors, Ozon is a household brand with a loyal customer base, growing goods assortment and an excellent logistical platform.”
MTS president and CEO Andrei Dubovskov said the deal will enable the company to develop “more effective customer touch points and services”. MTS will harness Ozon’s infrastructure, delivery service and IT and industry capabilities to boost its own online presence, he noted.
“Our partnership will also enable both companies to realise scale benefits in critical e-commerce categories, such as smartphones, tablets and consumer electronics devices.”