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RDIF, Mail.ru Group, Alibaba, Megafon close e-commerce JV deal

According to RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev, the partnership already provides access to e-commerce services for more than 50% of Russian population

© Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS

MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Mail.ru Group, Alibaba, and Megafon have completed a deal to create a joint venture (JV) in the social e-commerce in Russia and the CIS countries, the fund said in a press release.

It was noted that, AliExpress Russia JV (AER JV) is majority owned by Russian shareholders with a Board of Directors comprised of representation from RDIF, Alibaba Group, MegaFon and Mail.ru Group. Boris Dobrodeev will be the Chairman of AliExpress Russia JV Board of Directors. The parties have appointed two Co-CEOs - AliExpress Russia Head Liu Wei and First Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Mail.ru Group Dmitry Sergeev.

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AliExpress interested in increasing presence of Russian business

As part of the shareholder collaboration, the AliExpress Russia JV and Mail.ru Group entered into a strategic cooperation agreement relating to, among other things, user traffic and product initiatives. The AliExpress Russia JV will be featured on Mail.ru Group’s platforms through exclusive product integration and marketing solutions.

According to RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev, the partnership already provides access to e-commerce services for more than 50% of Russian population, and Russian suppliers have the opportunity to reach 1.5 bn customers in China and globally.

In June, RDIF, Alibaba, Megafon and Mail.ru Group have signed a final agreement on creating a joint venture AliExpress Russia to integrate key Russian consumer Internet and e-commerce platforms.

The share of Megafon in AliExpress Russia will be 24.3%, RDIF - 12.9%, Mail.ru - 15%. Alibaba Group will invest $100 mln and will become part of AliExpress joint venture business in Russia, which includes the current local and cross-border activities of the international e-commerce platform AliExpress.

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