Page 117 - RusRPTJan22

RBC reports that Rostelecom First Vice President Vladimir Kirienko, who was in charge of Rostelecom’s digital transformation, including data centres and multimedia platform Wink, is to replace Dobrodeev. However, his appointment has not been officially confirmed.
We continue to view the recent changes in controlling shareholders and the management of VK as potential triggers for the stock, which remains undervalued. However, more clarity is needed on VK’s future strategy in order to assess the potential impact of the recent changes on the shareholder value.
VK’s BoD unanimously approved the appointment of Vladimir Kirienko as the company’s CEO (Russia) on 13 December. Mr. Kirienko previously was First Vice President of Rostelecom. We see the news as expected, as Mr. Kirienko’s potential appointment as CEO has been discussed by various media outlets since 3 December.
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Intema, a subsidiary of MTS AI in Luxembourg, has agreed to acquire 100% of VisionLabs for RUB 7bn. The sellers are VisionLabs’ founders (51.77%), companies in the Sberbank Group (25.07%) and Sistema_VC (23.16%), a venture fund run by MTS’ parent company Sistema. We think the deal could strengthen MTS AI’s portfolio and be synergetic to MTS’ overall services ecosystem. At the same time, since Sistema_VC is one of the sellers, investors could want more details on the deal’s valuation and structure from a corporate governance perspective. Net-net, we see the transaction as neutral for MTS at this stage.
Baring Vostok, a leading Moscow-based PE/VC firm operating essentially in Russia and neighbouring countries, has invested $13mn in a customer data platform for marketing automation called Mindbox. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Forbes Russia reported that Baring had received a minority stake in exchange for its investment, while Mindbix employees were allocated “a new option pool of more than 8%.” Founded in 2006, Mindbox helps businesses set up loyalty programs, personalized offers and mailing lists for customers. Its client portfolio include Burger King, Cian, Delimobil, Dodo Pizza, L’Oréal, Perekrestok, and other companies.
Intema, the AI accelerator and venture fund launched by mobile operator MTS this past September, is set to acquire biometrics firm VisionLabs for 7 billion rubles ($95 million at the current exchange rate). Founded in Russia in 2012, this developer of AI-powered computer vision solutions quickly drew the attention of top global digital players. Sber (at that time ‘Sberbank’) invested in the company in 2017 as part of a plan to develop an in-house
117 RUSSIA Country Report January 2022 www.intellinews.com