In a deal worth approximately $175 million, the parent company of online auto classifieds business, Auto.ru, has agreed to sell 100% of its issued shares to Yandex.
Subject to pre-closing conditions, Yandex anticipates that the entire transaction will be completed by the end of the third quarter of this year.
Yandex stated that it has no plan to close Auto.ru. Instead it hopes to develop the site’s functionality and keep everything operating out of the familiar www.auto.ru URL.
Auto.ru is said to hold the largest online motor vehicle classifieds catalogue in Russia, including more than 400,000 unique listings for all types of new and used motor vehicles, placed by both auto dealers and private individuals.
Search integration
Further down the line there could be plans to build Auto.ru data into Yandex search algorithms, according to Yandex vice president of commerce, Alexey Tretyakov.
“Users come to Auto.ru to research what vehicles they should buy, read the latest auto news, search for tires and spare parts and buy and sell their vehicles,” said Tretyakov.
“The acquisition of Auto.ru will enable Yandex to provide more comprehensive answers to users’ questions and expand our capabilities in auto classifieds.”
Established in 1996, Auto.ru was the first Russian-language, online community for car enthusiasts. Yandex revealed says that the site boasts monthly return visitors of approximately 40%.
