OREANDA-NEWS. Mail.ru Group together with investment company Proxima Capital announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in YouDrive car sharing. Investments, the volume of which isn't disclosed, can be directed to a future joint venture of Mail.ru Group and Sberbank, the holding said in a statement.

According to the company, the perimeter of the transaction will include YouDrive car sharing, YouDrive Business short-term taxi car rental service and YouDrive Pool car sharing platform. The press service of the Mail.ru Group explained to the Russian media that they didn't exclude the acquisition of the YouDrive Lite asset in the future (rental of electric scooters).

According to the data for August 2019, more than 2.5 thousand cars are available to project users, the parties plan to increase their number to at least 10 thousand during the year. "YouDrive will use the raised funds for organic growth. The company will continue to engage in in-depth data analysis and focus on increasing the efficiency of using the fleet", the report said. At the same time, the Mail.ru Group specified that the new asset will not be consolidated in the financial statements of the holding - the company will display it in the financial documentation as put up for sale.

The press service of Mail.ru Group also noted that the terms of the transaction do not provide for any changes in the management of YouDrive. The group does not disclose how the ownership structure of car sharing will change in connection with the acquisition of a controlling interest.

YouDrive was founded in 2015, the service operates in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Sochi, the total fleet of vehicles totals 2.5 thousand cars, including partnerships. 60% of the company’s shares are owned by its founders Boris Golikov, Andrei Kuprikov and Alexei Nurdinov. Panavto Invest LLC Moscow Mercedes-Benz Car Dealer owns 21.33% of the shares, Partner Finance LLC owns 18.67% of the shares.