The Russian mobile operator MTS is in talks to buy ivi.ru, the country’s leading OTT platform.
Quoting sources speaking to RBK, ComNews reports that although MTS is willing to pay around R20 billion (€274 million) for a 100% stake in MTS, not all shareholders are willing to sell the company at such a price.
Ivi.ru was founded by Oleg Tumanov and launched in February 2010. Although its exact shareholder structure is unclear, it is known to include Tumanov, Interros, Baring Vostok, ru-Net, Tiger Global and Buran Ventures.
While the company saw its revenues grow by 62% to R3.94 billion in 2018, one reason for the sale could be low profitability.
It posted net losses of R130.5 million in 2017 and the figures for last year are still unknown.
