AIM Group » Russia

Today’s Russian classifieds mega-merger: Here’s background, and how it happened

AIMGroup — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:27:58 +0000

By Lars Herlin

The fragmented Russian classifieds market is becoming a lot more focused, with a merger between three of the top sites valued at more than half a billion dollars announced today. But, the other major Russian classified company calls the merger “a positive move” that is just the start of consolidation.

Naspers’ Slando.ru and OLX.ru, are being merging into Avito.ru, Russia’s largest classified website. The owners said the merged site will be the No. 3 classified site in the world, behind San Francisco-based Craigslist.org and Beijing-based 58.com.

The Russian merger, signed back in December, gave Cape Town-based Naspers an 18.6 percent stake in Avito in exchange for Slando.ru, OLX.ru and $50 million U.S. in cash.

“In 2012 (Avito’s) turnover came to $30 million, but …

This content is available to Classified Intelligence Report clients.

Want to know more about becoming a client? Click here.?

Blockbuster classified merger in Russia: Avito swallows Naspers’ Slando, OLX

AIMGroup — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 02:28:19 +0000

Avito.ru is expected by its owners to become the No. 3 classified advertising site in the world as part of a half-billion-dollar-plus merger with Naspers’ Slando and OLX sites in Russia.

Avito will have more than 100 million page-views a day when the three sites are merged, the companies said. The news was reported Tuesday by the Financial Times / FT.com, although one of the investment firms that owns shares in Avito.ru hinted earlier at the Naspers investment and merger. [Registration may be required to view the FT.com article.]

The estimated value of the merger is $570 million. In a funding round last May, four companies invested $75 million into Avito.ru.

Naspers will invest $50 million and merge both Slando.ru and OLX.ru into Avito, the FT reported. Avito now has 140,000 people listing on the site each day, and 20 percent of all used cars sold in Russia are sold on Avito, the companies said. Avito generated $30 million in sales in 2012 and has almost 4,000 small-business sites or “stalls.”

Naspers, the South African media house, is expected to own a share of almost 19 percent in Avito, along with Swedish investment funds Kinnevik Investments and Vostok Nafta; Northzone Ventures; Baring Vostok, a Russian private equity house, and Accel Partners in the U.S.

Avito cofounder Filip Engelbert told the FT that the company is now focusing on generating revenue, after spending five years seeking to become the No. 1 classified site in Russia. One of its major competitors is IRR.ru, the online site of Iz Ruk v Ruki (“From Hand to Hand”), a classifieds publication owned by Trader Media East.

The FT reported that Avito would rank behind U.S.-based Craigslist.com and Beijing-based 58.com among classified sites after the merger.

We checked the Naspers website and the Kinnevik site. No news release yet.

Irr.ru gets total revamp

AIMGroup — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:41:01 +0000

Published October 14, 2011

The Russian classifieds platform Irr.ru has been re-launched with a complete fresh face and many new features, a new search function and other novel functions.

After months of extensive planning and development Pronto Moscow/Trader Media East is pleased to announce the re-launch of Irr.ru. The revamped site is designed to reach masses with its simpler, more accessible, flexible and user-friendly platform.

Irr.ru invites you to see its complete new site, where years of experience meet simplicity and innovation. Our unique focus on classifieds makes user experience more promising. The new platform enables private and professional users to post their goods and services in 23 categories from property to household items, new or used. The platform also enables users to experience premium search and filtering functions, to find what they are looking for in a most convenient way.

The new Irr.ru operates in almost every single city of Russia, as well as in Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Irr.ru is the leading classified site in Russia with 9 million monthly unique visitors (UMV), 70% of which are reaching the site organically, thanks to its high brand recognition. The site is by far the number one in monetization with revenue of 11.5 million USD in 2010 and a 55% growth rate expected for 2011.

A nation-wide advertising campaign (TV, outdoor, internet and radio) also started in the wake of the launch, to attract a new audience to the site.

Moscow, 19 September 2011