Ukraine’s largest e-commerce firms Rozetka and EVO Group are to merge in order to develop an “ecosystem for local internet buyers and sellers,” the companies announced on Aug. 9.
The agreement between the two foresees Rozetka buying a 56 percent share of EVO Group from Naspers, the multinational internet and media group that also owns 95 percent of global online marketplace OLX, which also operates in Ukraine.
The companies plan to create a separate enterprise placing under its umbrella all of the online stores that belong to them, including Rozetka, Prom, Deal, Bigl, Crafta, Kabanchik, Vchasno, Shafa. The future name of the enterprise is still unknown.
All the stores will continue their operations as usual and retain their names.
The official purpose of the agreement is for both companies to empower each other as Rozetka possesses a complex logistics system throughout Ukraine while EVO has many smaller online stores and a big tech department.
But both companies are tight-lipped about the amount of money Rozetka paid for Naspers’s shares. According to online tech journal AIN.ua, however, the sum is around $12–15 million.
The ownership will consist of Rozetka’s co-owners —venture capital company Horizon Capital and shop’s CEO Vladyslav Chechotkin; and three EVO Group co-founders — Mykola Palienko, Denys Horovy, and Taras Murashko.
In a press release statement, Rozetka’s Chechotkin said that his store has been successfully selling goods from small entrepreneurs and that he sees lots of potential helping these entrepreneurs to sell goods via other marketplaces, apart from Rozetka. He believes that Rozetka’s logistics network will contribute to EVO’s success as well.
“The synergy of the logistics infrastructure, tech infrastructure and cooperation with tens of thousands of entrepreneurs will allow us to build one of the most useful companies in the life of every Ukrainian,” Chechotkin said.
His EVO Group partner Palienko said that the plan is to build a sophisticated offline and online market ecosystem around customers.
“The merger of the businesses… will allow us to achieve this goal,” Palienko said. “As a result, both buyers and entrepreneurs will benefit.”
But although the deal has been signed between the two companies, the agreement can be canceled by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine if it decides that the merger will monopolize the e-commerce industry. The companies have submitted a request for AMCU’s approval and are waiting for the decision.
AMCU’s head Yuriy Terentyev told the Kyiv Post that the body will know the answer within the month.
The Kyiv Post’s technology coverage is sponsored by Ciklum and NIX Solutions. The content is independent of the donors.
