The Bell learned about the refusal of the shareholders of Aliexpress Russia to finance the company
After the start of the Russian “special operation” * in Ukraine, all the shareholders of “Aliexpress Russia” refused to invest in the project, tell me three sources of The Bell in the Russian e-commerce market, related to a number of companies. The largest share in Aliexpress Russia belongs to the Chinese Alibaba Group (47.85%). Other shareholders are Russian structures: USM Alisher Usmanov (24.3%), VK (15%) and Russian Investment Capital (RDIF, 12.8%).
At the end of 2021, investments in the VKontakte project, when its new owners Sogaz and Gazprombank convert spending on non-media assets. In the income for the first quarter of 2022, VK is registered, which is completely wrote investments in the joint venture (almost 10 billion rubles) due to the depreciation of the valley.
But Alibaba’s position was noted – after February 24, the company notified partners that it was stopping investing in the project, three sources told The Bell. According to one of them, Alibaba pursues the goal of investment “purely in the aggregate.” Another interlocutor claims that after February 24, the Chinese “without any reference to the inspection” “actually said that they would not invest anymore.”
After that, USM and RDIF investigations were carried out, which, according to one of the interlocutors, were sentenced and “wasn’t up to it.” He admitted that if Alibaba decided to continue investing, then one of the Russian shareholders turns around for it – “but Alibaba said that it was no longer interested in it.”
In 2022, Alibaba plans to invest about 20 billion rubles in the project, said a source associated with the size of Aliexpress Russia. The project and its shareholders had approved plans, but after the start of the “special operation”, partnership with the atmosphere became excessive for Alibaba, the source said. The last time the shareholders of Aliexpress Russia invested in the company was in 2021, investing $400 million in total.
Since February, according to sources from Aliexpress Russia, more than 50% of stocks have been detained. Prior to the start of “special operations” the staff of the company recruits employees. In addition, the company of large logistics projects, including abandoning most of the space in the Obukhovo construction logo park in the Moscow region (it was planned to rent 180,000 sq. m.) And choosing buyers for a logistics terminal in Yekaterinburg (was supposed to be the first chosen) warehouse companies in Russia), the Bell interlocutors told.
According to sources, advertising campaigns and marketing activities have been stopped, the company has abandoned the contextual marketplace that can compete with Wildberries, Ozon and Yandex. It took the team the last three years to develop it. According to the source, the company currently only has projects scheduled until February 24.
“The company will not be curtailed, closed or sold. Shriveled, it can exist in its current form, at best, working “to zero,” says the source of The Bell. But due to the inevitable loss and fast delivery, Aliexpress will constantly reproduce shares to competitors, he believes.
Aliexpress Russia, VK, RDIF and USM declined to comment on the matter. Alibaba did not respond to The Bell’s request.
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