Vostok Nafta successor sells remaining Russian assets

MOSCOW. Feb 19 (Interfax) - Swedish fund VNV Global has announced its exit from a pool of Russian healthcare projects, including Napopravku, Dr Ryadom and Best Doctor, as well as online travel service OneTwoTrip.

VNV Global said in its report for 2023 that it sold its stake in OneTwoTrip in the third quarter for $1.4 million and its stake in online doctor appointment service Napopravku in the fourth quarter for $0.1 million. The fund reported that it held respectively 21.1% and 21.4% of these companies.

VNV Global also entered into an agreement to sell its stake in Best Doctor, which is developing an ecosystem of healthcare and insurance services, and digital healthcare firm Dr Ryadom, but "still technically owns the shares in the sold companies until the agreement is fully completed." The fund holds respectively 10.6% and 26.7% of these companies.

The fund did not name the buyer, saying only that it is "a director of one of the reporting companies within VNV Global."

VNV Global operated under the name Vostok New Ventures until the middle of 2020. The company was founded as Vostok Nafta in 1996 by entrepreneur Adolf Lundin to invest in the fuel and energy sector of Russia and other CIS countries. Vostok Nafta was a leading player on the Russian stock market and its key investment was a stake in Russian gas giant Gazprom .

In 2007, the fund decided to spin off assets not related to Gazprom into a new company called New Vostok Nafta, while the "old" Vostok Nafta was renamed Vostok Gas. In 2012-2013, Vostok Nafta sold off its whole portfolio and transformed into a private equity fund focused on companies in the new economy. However, the fund, whose largest investment was Russian online classifieds service Avito, retained a reference to the Russian market through its original brand Vostok.