Netherlands-based investment company Prosus, the owner of Olx, the largest marketplace horizontal in the Ukraine, has exited Russia-based social network VK by giving away its 27% stake in the company.
This decision had been announced in March in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prosus said at the time that the write off would cost it $769 million.
According to a statement issued by VK, it has sold the shares acquired from Prosus to its management team at the market price in a RUB24.8 billion ($410 million U.S.) deal.
Frequently referred to as “Russia’s Facebook,” VK (or VKontakte) had been listed on the London Stock Exchange, but trading in its shares was suspended after CEO Vladimir Kiriyenko was put on a sanctions list by the U.S. government. He is the son of Sergei Kiriyenko, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
State-owned natural gas company Gazprom holds a majority stake in VK via a number of subsidiaries and affiliates. Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent are minority shareholders.