OREANDA-NEWS  The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of Russia will analyze the deal between the Wildberries marketplace and the outdoor advertising operator Russ Group to combine assets, but preliminarily assesses it as potentially positive for the market, head of the department Maxim Shaskolsky told reporters on the sidelines of the Antimonopoly Forum 2024.

He noted that so far the request for approval of the deal has not been received by the FAS.

"If Wildberries and Ozon were teaming up, then, of course, it would definitely bother us. And it is even possible to predict the response to such a situation. And in the part of Russ and Wildberries, we will study the situation. Companies are successful, they are developing in different segments, perhaps a positive effect will be achieved for entrepreneurs and consumers," said the head of the FAS.

On the eve of Wildberries, the telegram channel announced that the marketplace and the Russ group are "teaming up" to create the latest digital trading platform. The parties did not disclose the legal and financial parameters and format of the merger.

It is assumed that the combined infrastructure of the companies will include a digital media platform, a network of advertising structures, logistics hubs, warehouses and log centers. The geography of the project will cover the territory of the Russian Federation, the former CIS countries, the countries of the global South: Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the CIS, India and China (more than 5.8 billion people in total).

Wildberries LLC, the main legal entity of the Wildberries marketplace, increased revenue to 538.7 billion rubles in 2023, which is 69.8% higher than in 2022. The company's net profit amounted to 18.9 billion rubles.

Russ Group manages classic and digital advertising structures in 143 cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, cities of the Moscow region, places ads in the Moscow and St. Petersburg subways, on trains and at Russian Railways stations and at 18 airports. The total coverage of advertising structures exceeds 85 million people per month.

In 2023, Russ Outdoor LLC increased revenue by 98.3% to 27.9 billion rubles, net profit amounted to 4.86 billion rubles.