Putin allows Laurentene Holdings to make transactions with shares in streamer Ivi

MOSCOW. Nov 6 (Interfax) - President Vladimir Putin has granted permission for Laurentene Holdings Limited to carry out transactions with shares in video streaming service Ivi.ru LLC.

The presidential order, which was posted on the legal information website, does not specify the nature of the transactions. It has the standard wording for such orders, permitting transactions "that lead indirectly to the establishment, change, cessation or encumbrance of rights of ownership, use and/or disposal of equity interests in Ivi.ru LLC."

There is no information available in public sources about the beneficiaries of Laurentene Holdings or its ties to Ivi.ru or this company's shareholders.

The Unified State Register of Legal Entities shows that Ivi.ru LLC is owned by Cyprus-based Ivi.ru Media Limited. Ivi.ru LLC said in its report for 2024 that Ivi.ru Media Limited's shareholder structure is dominated by funds of various legal forms, which "makes it difficult to identify the beneficiary owners" of the company.

Rai Capital Partners secured similar permission for transactions with Ivi.ru shares in July.

In June, VTB head Andrei Kostin said that the state bank had divested its stake in Ivi, which was about 15%. VTB was part of a consortium of investors that invested $250 million into the streaming service in 2021. The consortium included the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Millhouse and other investors. Ivi has not disclosed information about new investment rounds or its shareholder structure since then.

Ivi.ru, which was founded in 2010 by Oleg Tumanov, closed 2024 with net profit up 80% to 3.6 billion rubles on revenue up 38% to 22.9 billion rubles.