Da Vinci Capital became co-owner of the taxi order service Gett

The investment company has 8% of service, this package costs tens of millions of dollars.
24.09.2018
Vedomosti
Origin source
The structures of Da Vinci bought a share in Gett from another shareholder - the Inventure Partners fund, as well as new shares that were issued under the last round of investments for the service, representatives of Vedomosti reported. Also in the transaction was the top management of Inventure Partners.

In June, Gett reported attracting $ 80 million from shareholders - Access Industries, Leonard Blavatnik, Baring Vostok, Vostok New Ventures, Volkswagen Group, etc. During the transaction, the service, according to him, was valued at $ 1.4 billion. Given Da Vinci the company raised $ 90 million.

Da Vinci Capital specializes in direct investments in medium-sized companies in Russia and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. The company, according to its data, manages assets worth $ 300 million, among investors of its funds - institutional investors and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

How much Da Vinci paid for the share of Inventure Partners, managing partner of Da Vinci Capital Oleg Zhelezko reported declined. But, according to him, Da Vinci will receive a total of about 8% in Gett, the transaction amount will be several tens of millions of dollars. At the head of the Cyprus GT Gettaxi Limited several types of shares, which were involved in the transaction, the parties did not disclose.

A source close to Inventure Partners confirmed: the fund sold a stake in Gett structures to Da Vinci and its top management. Inventure Partners came out of Gett after six years in the asset, the investment was very profitable, Vedomosti interlocutor added: the fund came to Gett when the entire taxi booking service was estimated at $ 50 million. The founder and managing partner of Inventure Partners, Sergey Azatyan, did not comment on the deal.

For Da Vinci, this is the first transaction in the field of transport and mobile technologies, said Zhelezko. "We have an investment in a company that develops transport software, and we believe this is the future for the industry," he added. "The deal with Gett fits into our strategy of investing in the sectors of the new economy."

Gett is present both in developing countries and developed and operates in large markets - in the UK, the US, Russia, etc., recalls Zhelezko. According to the service, he works in more than 120 cities around the world. Corporate direction Gett gives other companies the opportunity to make taxi orders; now among its clients more than 17 500 companies around the world.

Gett has a goal in early 2019 to achieve operational profit, said earlier its founder, Dave Weiser. What a loss the company now and what kind of turnover, he refused to disclose. Global service competitors from Israel - American Uber and Lyft are unprofitable.

Gett still has a goal to bring the entire business into profit during the first quarter of 2019, Weisser told Vedomosti. Which countries are already in the black, he did not specify. "We will be the first company in our sector that will go into profit," the founder of the service optimistically stated, adding that plans concern Russia.

Unlike larger competitors that are aimed at the mass market, Gett is aimed at working with drivers with the highest rating, Weisser reasons: "It happens in all markets of the presence of Gett. We stick to this strategy in order to build a service for users who are not indifferent to who is taking them. " This positioning, according to the founder of Gett, allows you to spend less on marketing at comparable prices with competitors: "If security and quality are important to you, there are no alternatives."

The second strength of Gett is working with corporate clients, says Weisser. "We like, in particular, that the company works not only with private clients, but also with business," adds Zhelezko. "This is a more profitable direction."

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