Russian President Vladimir Putin has given the green light to RAI Capital Partners' acquisition of shares in the digital cinema platform, Ivy.
In a move that has left the corporate world buzzing, Russian President Vladimir Putin has given his approval for transactions involving shares in the online cinema "Ivi" (LLC "Ivi.ru"). However, the exact ownership structure of the company following this approval remains unclear.
The streaming service "Ivi" was launched in 2010 by financier Oleg Tumanov. In May 2021, a consortium of investors, including VTB Capital, Millhouse of Roman Abramovich, and Invest AG of Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov, invested $250 million in "Ivi". Oleg Tumanov transferred operational management of the company to his deputy, Nikolai Vasilkov, in April 2022.
The ultimate beneficiary of RAI Capital Partners, the entity that has received Putin's approval, is Nikolai Vasilkov, according to the Hong Kong registry of legal entities. Yet, the current ownership structure of LLC "Ivi.ru" following this approval is not explicitly stated in the available data.
The nature of the transactions between RAI Capital Partners and "Ivi" is not specified in the decree. Additionally, no further details about the investors involved in the transactions with RAI Capital Partners are provided in the text. The revenue and net profit of LLC "Ivi.ru" have shown significant improvement between 2021 and 2022, with the company reporting a revenue of 22.9 billion rubles and a net profit of 3.6 billion rubles in 2022.
The beneficiary of LLC "Ivi.ru" is the Cypriot structure Ivi.ru Media Ltd, which does not disclose its owners. It should be noted that at the time of publication, "Ivi" did not respond to a request from "Kommersant" for clarification on the matter.
Four years later, in 2025, VTB exited the online cinema's capital, as announced by VTB CEO Andrei Kostin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The specific investors involved in the 2021 deal, beyond RAI Capital Partners, include VTB Capital, Millhouse of Roman Abramovich, and Invest AG of Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov.
For those seeking detailed and current ownership information about LLC "Ivi.ru", it might be necessary to consult official Russian corporate registries, press releases from Ivi.ru or RAI Capital Partners, or authoritative news sources covering corporate changes in Russia.
- Despite initial investments from VTB Capital, Millhouse of Roman Abramovich, and Invest AG of Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov in 2021, the exact ownership structure of the online cinema LLC "Ivi.ru" following Putin's approval remains unclear, as the current ownership structure is not explicitly stated in the available data.
- The beneficiary of RAI Capital Partners, the entity that has received Putin's approval, is Nikolai Vasilkov, and this transition raises questions about the business technology landscape of the online cinema industry, as the nature of the transactions between RAI Capital Partners and "Ivi" is not specified in the decree.
