Russian telecoms operator MTS acquired 51% in Factorin, a blockchain-based trading platform, for $11.7 million in a deal with Digital Horizon. Around $4.7 million of the total investment will be used for company development, according to MTS.

Factorin founder Andrey Maklin and the team retained 25% in the company, while Digital Horizon kept 24%. The acquisition will allow MTS to expand the ecosystem of financial services for corporate clients, namely, to provide factoring services using blockchain.

Andrey Maklin notes that the deal will help to “transform entire areas of fintech services for the B2B segment on a major scale”. He estimates the trade finance factoring market to grow to reach more than $100 billion by 2024.

Original (in Russian)