15 January 2015 – The private equity fund, advised by Elbrus Capital, became one of the shareholders in CIAN GROUP, the leader among Russian property websites. Deal structure included both sale of existing shares and subscription for new shares. Size of the investment and stake acquired were not disclosed.
CIAN GROUP will use investment proceeds to finance regional expansion and further product development, as well as to increase its brand awareness.

“The deal with Elbrus Capital is important to us from many perspectives, including the one that it helps us diversify the shareholder structure. We welcome a new professional financial investor with established track record of investing in large Internet and media businesses and supporting them in their further regional development and expansion” – commented Maxim Melnikov, CEO of CIAN GROUP.

“It’s not the first time investment in Internet and online classifieds sectors for Elbrus Capital. Recently it was announced that the fund became a shareholder in HH.ru, the leading online recruitment portal. We believe that Elbrus Capital resources and experience will facilitate the successful implementation of CIAN GROUP strategy” – said Mikhail Lukianov, Strategy and Investment Director at CIAN GROUP.

“CIAN GROUP is an example of successful and promising Internet company which resources are one of the most sought and popular in Runet. We are confident that online classifieds sector will continue growing even in turbulent economic times in the country, and CIAN, with its strong management team, supported by the founders and the shareholders, will achieve further superior results” – commented Dmitri Krukov, Managing Partner at Elbrus Capital.

Mail.Ru Group Limited  (LSE: MAIL, hereinafter referred as “the Company” or “the Group”), today announces the sale of 100% of HeadHunter shares to an investor consortium led by Elbrus Capital for RUR 9.85 billion.  
The deal is expected to close in Q1 2015 and is subject to third-party approval.
Mail.Ru Group has been the owner of HeadHunter, the leader in the online recruitment segment in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Azerbaijan, for 6 years. During that time HeadHunter has established its leading position in the Russian market, as its monthly audience has grown from 4 to 14 mln unique users, its resume database has increased from 3 to 14.5 mln, and its vacancy database has grown from 70 to 360 thousand. During that period HeadHunter has also entered the Belarus (2010) and Azerbaijan (2012) markets and launched a Russian Employer Rating, Wage Database, Clickme advertising service and online Vacancy Fair.

In 2013 HeadHunter’s revenue and EBITDA was RUR 2,756 million and RUR 1,357 million respectively. During the first 9 months of 2014 HeadHunter’s revenue and EBITDA was RUR 2,325 and 1,183 million respectively.
Dmitry Grishin, Co-Founder and CEO of Mail.Ru Group: “We are grateful to the HeadHunter team for the great job they’ve been doing these 6 years.  Thanks to their efforts during that time the product has made a serious leap in quality, its popularity growing manifold. We wish much success to the team.” 

Dmitri Krukov, Managing Partner at Elbrus Capital: “HeadHunter is the absolute leader in the online recruitment market, the company boasts a great management team that has impressive track record of growth and success. We believe that the online HR solutions market in Russia and other countries presents great opportunities. Our experience and our investors’ capital will provide new opportunities for HeadHunter to implement its strategy of further technology development (including mobile technologies), launching new products and services, and entering new markets.”

Mikhail Zhukov, Managing Director at HeadHunter: “We are grateful to Mail.Ru Group management team for supporting our development and for our collaboration during all these years. With our new shareholders HeadHunter is in for the new stage of development. I am certain that this step will be very positive for our clients who develop their businesses and our users who build their careers with the help of HeadHunter.”

Elbrus Capital, a leading private equity business in Russia and the CIS, is pleased to announce the final closing of the private equity fund advised by it (“the Fund”) with capital commitments of US$550 million. The Fund was oversubscribed, exceeding its target of US$ 500 million and reaching its hard cap. Additionally, the Fund secured US$150 million financing from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which will bring the total available capital for Fund investments to US$700 million upon finalization of legal documentation later this year.

The Fund has attracted a number of new blue chip institutional investors from Europe, the United States, Middle East and Asia. A number of the investors in the Fund made their first commitments to Russian private equity.

Alexander Savin, Co-Managing Partner of Elbrus Capital said, “We are pleased that such a high quality group of international investors has demonstrated its confidence by committing to the Fund”. “The deployment of the Fund is well under way with over US$200 million already invested in six platforms. The Fund has been able to consistently invest in the market leaders in the mid-market growing at 20% or more” said Dmitri Krukov, Co-Managing Partner. Rob Thielen, Partner, added: “This is a great achievement in a very difficult fundraising environment for Russia and CIS-focused funds. It positions the Fund strongly to deliver superior returns to its investors”.

The Fund will continue to implement its buy-and-build strategy, making control and significant influence investments in leading companies within fragmented markets with clear consolidation potential, to actively drive growth both organically and through acquisitions.

MVision Private Equity Advisers Limited acted as exclusive global fundraising adviser for the Fund. Clifford Chance LLP acted as legal counsel.

Background
Elbrus Capital is a leading Russia and CIS-focused private equity business. Elbrus Capital advises private equity funds which have led over 70 acquisitions since 2007. The funds’ total assets under management exceed US$1 billion. Elbrus Capital focuses on leading companies looking for further growth and consolidation opportunities. Funds advised by Elbrus Capital will seek significant influence or controlling stakes in fast growing businesses, and will partner with entrepreneurs who have the ambitions to take their business to the next level of development. Elbrus Capital is specifically interested in companies active in markets that fall within four key investment themes: changing consumer patterns, business and consumer infrastructure needs, optimising use of natural resources, healthcare andeducation needs.

Elbrus Capital contact for media inquiries:
Ilya Novokhatsky, DNA Communications
Tel: +7 (925) 518 1798
ilya@dnapr.ru

The private equity fund advised by Elbrus Capital has acquired Intercomp, the largest financial and HR business process outsourcing provider in Russia and the CIS.

Having led the way in financial and HR outsourcing in Russia since it was founded in 1994, Intercomp today is the leader in its segment in terms of size and quality of services. Intercomp employs more than 600 professionals and has a portfolio of over 700 clients, including major international and regional companies representing dozens of various industries.

“This transition to a new stage of development became possible as a result of the company’s stable and continuous growth,” said Intercomp’s CEO Sergey Buchin. “In the last year alone, we have implemented a whole range of major initiatives: we opened a branch in Nizhny Novgorod, introduced new services for the government sector, and rebranded the company. I am delighted that we have found a reliable business partner in Elbrus Capital: a partner with whom we can boldly move into the future. We are confident that profitability and stability, as well as focus on growth and expansion, will prove to be the major features of our development.”

“Business optimization and focus on efficiency are essential to success in any business,” said Managing Partner of Elbrus Capital Alexander Savin, commenting on the deal. “We expect the outsourcing industry to grow substantially in the near future. The increased outsourcing of ancillary business processes in both the commercial and government sectors will help companies and the government alike, to reach their goals in changing market conditions. We see Intercomp as the industry leader, and will fully support its management team in implementing its further growth strategy.”

About Elbrus Capital

Elbrus Capital is a leading private equity business in Russia and the CIS. Elbrus Capital advises private equity funds which have led over 70 acquisitions since 2007. The funds’ total assets under management exceed $1 billion. Key investors in the funds are large international institutional investors and international development institutions.

Further enquiries

Elbrus Capital
Ilya Novokhatsky, DNA Communications (Elbrus Capital’s public relations representative)
+7 925 518 1798
ilya@dnapr.ru

The private equity fund advised by Elbrus Capital has acquired 23% of shares of B2B-Center, the largest operator of an online procurement marketplace in Russia.

B2B-Center is the leading online procurement platform in B2B segment. Over 230 thousand trading procedures for a total amount of over 2.5 trillion rubles have been conducted on B2B-Center’s online marketplace. The system helps purchasers to achieve cost savings on procurement, while suppliers can find new clients and open up new markets.

The fund advised by Elbrus Capital focuses on investments in leading companies looking for further growth and consolidation opportunities. Elbrus Capital partners with entrepreneurs who have the ambitions to take their business to the next level of development.

Dmitri Krukov, Managing Partner of Elbrus Capital, commented on the deal: “Our vision for the development of e-commerce in Russia matches the strategic development plan of B2B-Center. We believe in future opportunities for online procurement systems. This important element of business infrastructure enables companies to improve their efficiency and reduce costs. B2B-Center is the market leader and it offers the superior innovative product to its clients. We are happy to become partners with B2B-Center’s management and shareholders and will use our resources and experience to further develop the company”.

“We joined efforts with Elbrus Capital in order to strengthen the company’s position on the market, – said Alexander Boyko, Chairman of the Board of B2B-Center. – I am sure that this partnership will be beneficial for the company and will contribute to further expansion of the business”.

About B2B-Center

Online procurement system B2B-Center (www.b2b-center.ru) is the largest operator of an electronic procurement marketplace in Russia. B2B-Center enables its clients to conduct over 40 types of trading procedures for buying and selling products and services and thereby it helps extend sales channels for suppliers while improving efficiency in supply chain procurement. The company’s clients include over 120 thousand enterprises from different industries and 90 countries. Today, more than 40% of online trading in B2B segment in Russia is conducted within B2B-Center.

About Elbrus Capital

Elbrus Capital is a leading private equity business in Russia and the CIS. Elbrus Capital advises private equity funds which have led over 70 acquisitions since 2007. The funds’ total assets under management exceed $600 million. Key investors in the funds are large international institutional investors and international development institutions.

Further enquiries

Elbrus Capital
Ilya Novokhatsky, DNA Communications (Elbrus Capital’s public relations representative)
+7 925 518 1798
ilya@dnapr.ru

B2B-Center
Sofia Arakelyan, PR Specialist
+7 495 989 8519, 8-800 555 8519 ext. 7113
pr@b2b-center.ru