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Prosus, the Dutch-based technology investor owned by Naspers, said it has agreed to sell its Russian online marketplace Avito for 151 billion roubles (R45-billion), to Kismet Capital Group. Avito had been one of Prosus’s most valuable investments, with an estimated valuation of about US$6-billion before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February led the company to cut ties and seek a sale of the property. The buyer, Russian investment firm Kismet, was founded by Ivan Tavrin, former CEO of telecommunications company MegaFon. Our goal has been to manage the sale of the business in a responsible and structured way Tavrin said in a statement that the purchase was in line with Kismet’s strategy of investing “in high-tech market leaders with significant growth potential”. Kismet said it had permission for the deal from Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) and a government commission on controlling foreign investment in the country. It said the transaction was financed and settled by a banking consortium led by Russia’s state-owned agricultural sector lender Rosselkhozbank. Several Western companies opting to exit the Russian market have taken significant financial losses in doing so. French food company Danone on Friday said that a deal to cede control of its dairy food business in Russia could lead to a write-off of up to €1-billion, while Japanese carmaker Nissan this week offloaded its assets to the Russian state, taking a loss of around $687-million. Read: Prosus to sell Russia’s Avito Prosus and its parent, Naspers, said the sale will close this month. “Our goal has been to manage the sale of the business in a responsible and structured way,” Naspers said in a statement. “We believe that this is best achieved through this deal.” Avito, Russia’s largest online marketplace, has around 5 000 employees and 90 million users. — (c) 2022 Reuters Get the latest and best South African tech news
