The Dutch company Prosus (part of the South African investment holding Naspers), which is the owner of Avito, is negotiating the sale of the service. Potential buyers are VK and an “organization associated with businessman Vladimir Potanin”. According to analysts, the service is valued at 67-100 billion rubles (equivalent to $1.17-1.75 billion).

In March, the media announced that Avito had been spun off from OLX Group into a separate company. After that, Prosus became the owner of 100% in Avito Holding LLC. Prosus announced that it had started to search for a buyer for the service, because the company curtailed operations in Russia. In addition to Avito, Prosus can also sell its 25.7% in the VK holding.

On June 10, a bill that limits the maximum share of foreign ownership in free ad services with a monthly audience of over 10 million to 20% was submitted to the State Duma for consideration. This initiative also affects Avito. According to the authors of the document, limiting the share of foreign participation is a form of onshoring of online classifieds platforms working in Russia.

Original in Russian