The owner of "Interros" Vladimir Potanin sells half Rambler & Co to your partner on the Internet holding Alexander Mamut, told "Vedomosti" sources close to the two businessmen. According to them, the parties agreed in principle, the deal should be concluded before the end of the year, are now being discussed its details. Potanin sells the option, he had received from Mamut in creating Rambler & Co. Representatives of the "Interros" and Mamut declined to comment on the deal.

Businessmen joined their media assets in the spring of 2013, I invested Rambler .: Potanin and "Bill", Mamut - the company "Soup". Potanin's assets earned more and were more expensive, but each partner has received parity share and became the managing partner of Mamut. In exchange, Potanin acquired the right in 2.5 years if you want to sell its stake Mamut at a fixed price -. $ 295 million of the option will expire this December, it follows from the documents on the deal, published in 2013 on the site of "Prof-Media" (the The holding unites all media assets Potanin).

Since the transaction was fixed in dollars, rubles option value has increased from 9.7 billion (the figure stated in the document "Prof-Media") to 18.1 billion ($ 295 million at the exchange rate on the last day, December 14). The option will be executed at fixed conditions in 2013, no special mention due to the devaluation of the ruble is not, according to sources close to Potanin and Mamut.

Mamut Assets

Forbes magazine estimated the state Mamut at $ 2.4 billion. Shares of gold producer Polymetal could bring him for three years, $ 46.2 million of dividends, estimates analyst Maxim Khudalov ACRA. He also owns 16% of FDI.

Mamut will pay for Rambler & Co's own funds and will not attract bank loans, says a source close to the two businessmen. From the businessman free $ 295 million - close to it did not disclose the source. First sources of "Vedomosti" told that Mamut tried several times to negotiate with Potanin, to reduce the payment for the Rambler & Co or to postpone the strike.

The new company will take the third place in terms of audience in RuNet, he promised to create Rambler & Co Mamut, and will be "one of the leading providers of online services and the main source of information on political, business, cultural and sporting events." In 2013, the holding was the fifth, now, according to Mediascope (former to TNS), resources Rambler & Co at least once a month uses 30.1 million people in Russia (data on users' desktops in October 2016). This is the fourth result among Internet holdings after Mail.ru Group, «Yandex" and Google. Separation from Google Rambler & Co remains high: monthly audience of the American company in Russia - 50.8 million people. Revenue "Prof-Media" Internet business in 2012 amounted to 3 billion rubles., The proceeds "soup" was not disclosed, of Forbes magazine estimated revenue of the company at $ 43 million. The combined Rambler & Co never revealed its financial results and has always been very stingy on disclosure of any business metrics. As in 2013, the foundation of the business holding up portals Rambler, "Bill" and media (Gazeta.ru, Lenta.ru and launched a year ago, news agency RNS). Earns holding primarily on advertising, as well as in the sale over the Internet of tickets to the cinema and to concerts. Top-manager of a major Internet company is categorical: "I strongly doubt that Rambler & Co profitable. Part of Mamut advertising budgets received solely through personal connections, including high-ranking officials. His media, to my knowledge, have earned very well in the elections to the State Duma. " The head of another media company, on the other hand, says that Mamut still managed to bring order to the holding company, and this year the business is growing well. Two employees Rambler & Co, are familiar with its financial results, insisting that the past two years the holding company is profitable. Representative Rambler & Co only said that the holding of this revenue has doubled over the past three years.

"It is unlikely that Potanin would now be able to sell the package Rambler & Co actually twice as much as in the early 2013's not only in the devaluation of the ruble, but in the crisis in the advertising market in general disappointed investors in the media business", - says head of a large media company . Analyst "Discovery" Alexander Vengranovich agree that in this situation Potanin lucky and Mamut - no.

Sources in the "Interros" before explained, "Vedomosti" that Potanin a few years ago no longer interested in the media business, so he has one after another to sell their assets in this area: most of the "Prof-Media" in late 2013 acquired the "Gazprom-Media" and a network of cinemas "cinema park" in 2014 bought the son of Saeed Suleiman Kerimov. After the sale of Rambler & Co Potanin of media assets will remain only a minority stake of video service Ivi.