RUSSIAN VIRTUAL LIBRARY

History

2024

Wildberries has launched its gas station network

In November 2024, the combined company Wildberries and Russ opened its own network of gas stations in the territories of the company's logistics centers. At the first stage, gas stations serve only drivers of the combined company, in the future it is planned to expand access for partner drivers. Read more here.

Joining WB Finance

Legal entity Wildberries - LLC "Wildberry" - transferred its microcredit organization "VB Finance" to the company LLC "RVB" merged with the Russ group, RB.Ru reported on October 25, 2024. The deal with MKK VB Finance LLC was held on October 14, 2024. Read more here.

Structure of combined company Wildberries and Russ revealed

In early October 2024, information appeared on the structure of the combined company Wildberries and Russ. The published data take into account the divorce of the owners of the marketplace - Tatyana and Vladislav Bakalchukov.

According to the M&A News Telegram channel, before the decision to merge with Russ (Stinn LLC and affiliated companies), the Wildberries group included Wildberry LLC and about 27 subsidiaries. All contracts with 300 thousand sellers on the site and with 18 thousand partner points of issue of orders were concluded with LLC "Wildberry." Before the decision to divorce, Tatiana owned 99% in Wildberries, and Vladislav - 1%. Moreover, the marriage agreement between the spouses was not concluded.

As part of the combination of Wildberry and Stinn, an LLC was established in which RUSSIAN VIRTUAL LIBRARY 65% of the shares belong to Wildberry and 35% to Stinn. Tatyana Bakalchuk remained the general director of Vaildberriz, and Robert Mirzonyan, who is also the general director of Stinn, became the general director of RVB. It is said that the company "Wildberriz" contributed its subsidiaries to the capital of "RVB," and also transferred contracts with 300 thousand sellers and from 18 thousand points of issue of orders to "RVB." In addition, Tatyana Bakalchuk transferred the rights to the domain name of the wildberries.ru from herself to "RVB." At the same time, Stinn will contribute advertising subsidiaries to the capital of the joint RVB.

It is said that in the event of dissolution of the marriage between the Bakalchuk, in accordance with the law, the shares of spouses in joint property are recognized as equal, unless otherwise provided for by the marriage agreement. Thus, Vladislav can become the owner of a 50% stake in the authorized capital of Wildberry. Tatiana, as the owner of the other 50% of Wildberry, may not make decisions on the payment of dividends for a long time and direct them to business needs.^[1]

Requirement for the company "WB Development" to return advances for 37 billion rubles

On September 25, 2024, it became known that the RVB requires Vladislav Bakalchuk's company to return advances totaling 37 billion rubles. We are talking about dozens of contracts for the construction of logistics facilities. Read more here.

Wildberries completed the merger with Russ into the company "RVB"

On August 5, 2024, Wildberries completed its merger with the largest outdoor advertising operator in Russia by the Russ group in RVB LLC. According to Wildberries, the company notified partners and customers in advance about the change of legal entity. In the daily work of Wildberries, nothing has changed - all delivery, storage and delivery services are performed as usual, the online retailer said in a statement. It is noted that RVB LLC will fulfill all obligations that are provided for by the contract.

Wildberries domain passed to RVB

The wildberries.ru domain, owned by the largest Russian marketplace Wildberries, has become the property of RVB, a joint venture between Wildberries and the Russ group. The change in the owner of the domain registered in 2004 occurred in July 2024, according to the domain verification service.

According to RBC, in June 2024, Wildberries and Russ, the largest outdoor advertising operator in Russia, announced plans to unite in order to create a digital trading platform. The implementation of the deal approved by the authorities will be supervised by the deputy head of the presidential administration Maxim Oreshkin.

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Wildberries

The combined company intends to become a competitor to global giants such as Amazon, Alphabet, Alibaba and SoftBank, focusing on the markets of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the CIS, India and China. It is assumed that Tatyana Bakalchuk, who heads Wildberries, will become the general director of the new structure, and Robert Mirzoyan, the head of Russ, will take the post of executive director.

Tatyana Abankina, scientific director of the Institute for the Development of Creative Industries at the Higher School of Economics, considers this association a strategically promising step. In her opinion, the creation of a high-tech platform will contribute to the promotion of Russian brands both within the country and abroad, which is important for the development of the export of creative goods and services.

Abankina stressed that together with Russian brands, cultural values ​ ​ and meanings of the country will enter the international market. The expert also noted the need to create a powerful infrastructure to support promotion in both domestic and international markets.

The wildberries.ru domain registration expires in March 2025. The transition of the domain to the joint company Wildberries and Russ is an important step in the process of combining two major players in the Russian e-commerce and outdoor advertising market.^[2][3]

Adding Wildberries to RVB with revenues of billions of rubles

Wildberries continues to expand the assets of a joint venture with the advertising group Russ. On July 17, 2024, seven new companies were included in RVB LLC, including large subsidiaries of the online retailer, testifying to the data of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRUL).

According to RB.ru, the total number of assets transferred to Wildberries in a joint venture has reached 26. Among the new revenues, VB Retail LLC, one of the largest sellers at the Wildberries site, attracts special attention. At the end of 2023, the revenue of this company amounted to ₽8,4 billion, and net profit - ₽188 million. These indicators were achieved in just six months of work, since VB Retail LLC was created on June 22, 2023.

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Freepik

Another significant asset transferred to the joint venture was VB TEK LLC with revenue of ₽2,3 billion and a net profit of ₽86 million. According to the analytical service Kontur.Focus, "the total balance of all 26 transferred assets of Wildberries is ₽45 billion, total revenue - ₽25 billion, and net profit - ₽1,5 billion.

Experts note that the transfer of subsidiaries to a joint venture may indicate a large-scale corporate transformation of Wildberries. Alexander Efimov, chairman of the board of the Association of E-Commerce Market Participants, described these actions as an "alarming and important signal" pointing to broader goals of combining companies than simply creating a new joint product.

RVB LLC was established on July 4, 2024 with an authorized capital of ₽20 million.. Tatyana Bakalchuk should head the joint company, but by July 19, 2024, Robert Mirzon, representing the Russ group, is the nageneral director of RVB LLC.^[4]

Creating a Company

In early July 2024, the Wildberries marketplace and the outdoor advertising operator Russ registered a joint company called RVB. This event was the first step in the implementation of the previously announced merger of the two companies to create an innovative digital trading platform.

According to Interfax, the new LLC was registered on July 4, 2024 with an authorized capital of 20 million rubles. According to information from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, 65% of the shares in RVB LLC belong to Wildberry LLC, and the remaining 35% belongs to Stinn LLC, the owner of the Russ group.

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Freepik

Robert Mirzoyan, who also holds the positions of General Director of Stinn LLC and Russ Outdor LLC, has been appointed head of the new legal entity. Representatives of both companies confirmed that the creation of a joint venture is part of the merger process, which was announced earlier.

The goal of combining the efforts of Wildberries and Russ is to create a high-tech digital trading platform that will provide seamless tools for the development of small and medium-sized businesses. The geography of the project will cover not only the territory of Russia and the countries of the former CIS, but also the countries of the global South, including Asia, Africa, the Middle East, India and China. The potential audience of the new platform could exceed 5.8 billion people.

The combined infrastructure of the companies will include a digital media platform, a network of advertising structures, logistics hubs, warehouses and logocenters. This will create a unique ecosystem that combines online trading and outdoor advertising.

The agreement on merging the Wildberries marketplace and the Russ Group outdoor advertising operator into a group of companies is subject to approval not only by FAS Russia, but also by other national regulators - Ministry of Industry and Trade and, Ministry of Digital Development says Dmitry Tortev, a member of the FAS expert council and secretary of the AUREC industry association (quoted by him). Forbes

In his opinion, when combining Wildberries and Russ, the market risks getting a "serious digital monopolist."^[5]

Notes