Russia's Rostelecom acquires 37.5% of online marketing solutions developer First Data, may increase stake to 75%

MOSCOW. Dec 23 (Interfax) - PJSC Rostelecom is acquiring 37.5% of martech company First Data and has received the right to subsequently increase its stake to 75%, the operator said in a statement.

The size of the deal was not disclosed.

According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, CommIT Capital, Rostelecom's venture capital fund, received 16.67% of First Data LLC on December 17. The Internet Initiatives Development Fund was the seller.

First Data operates in the field of marketing technologies and advertising personalization based on big data, the statement said. First Data's tools help B2C companies identify their target audience online by analyzing anonymized purchase data using AI algorithms, enabling effective ad targeting and boosting sales. First Data's key clients are large and medium-sized companies in the retail, e-commerce, FMCG and pharmaceutical industries.

Rostelecom and First Data will jointly develop innovative services for personalizing B2C communications using AI technologies, it said.

First Data LLC was registered in 2017. Its charter capital stands at 11.7 million rubles. Revenue totaled 258.2 million rubles in 2023, up 1.9-fold. Net profit grew 2.6-fold to 16.7 million rubles.