Rambler-Afisha, an Internet group owned by Russian tycoon Vladimir Potanin’s ProfMedia holding, is seeking to attract an investor in Begun, a context advertising company which it fully acquired just months ago.
In an exchange with the Russian business daily Vedomosti, Rambler-Afisha General Manager Nikolai Molibog confirmed that co-investment with a third-party was being considered in order to develop Begun in synergy with the group’s other properties Price.ru and Ichiba.ru.
Unnamed “sources close to the group” told Gazeta.ru, a popular online publication, that Rambler-Afisha was even considering selling the company outright. Even though Begun is profitable, these sources explained, its turnover and profit are decreasing, and at least $6 million in investment would be required to develop the business further.
Such plans were denied this Tuesday by Anton Terekhov, one of the group’s executives, reported Oborot.ru, an online publication on e-commerce.
The Russian contextual ad market in 2012
![Context ad market 2012 [eLama.ru]](https://i1.wp.com/ru.bar.ewdn.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2013/01/Context-ad-market-2012-eLama.ru_.png)
Source: eLama.ru
