Mail.Ru may fully control VKontakte soon, in final talks to buy 48% from UCP
VKontakte, the largest Russian social network, in the near future may fall under full control, direct or indirect, of the internet group Mail.ru Group, reported Russian daily Vedomosti.
The negotiations on acquiring a 48% stake in VKontakte from of Ilya Sherbovich's investment group UCP are in the final stages, the paper reported citing two sources close to the close to the participants of the upcoming transaction and an unspecified banker.
The deal may take place within several weeks, one of the sources told Vedomosti. The buyer of UCP’s stake could either be Mail.ru Group or a third party linked with the group’s shareholders.
Mail.ru Group, controlled by Alisher Usmanov’s USM Holdnig, currently owns a 52% stake in VKontakte.
The whole of VKontakte is most likely to be valued about USD 2.9bn, according to the sources. Based on this, the price of the 48% stake could reach almost USD 1.4bn.
In 2013, VKontakte posted revenues of RUB 5.7bn (USD 154.6m) and Mail.ru Group of RUB 27.4bn, the item added.
Source Vedomosti