 09-Jun-19, TechCrunch

After announcing plans to build a joint venture together, Russian internet giant Mail.ru, Megafon and China’s Alibaba announced that the deal has closed. With support also from Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF, the three are forming a new operation called AliExpress Russia JV to double down on building e-commerce services to serve Russia and neighboring countries. 

Image: Retail News Asia

The operation, estimated to have a value of USD2 billion, has several moving pieces, which is one reason why it's taken nearly eight months to bring it all together. While the business will largely be built on e-commerce know-how from Alibaba, it will be majority-controlled by Russian entities.

The deal underscores the potential of the Russian-speaking market, but also at the challenges of building a new e-commerce entity, or conversely expanding an established one into the market without deeper local knowledge.

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