The owners of Aviasales, Russia's largest flight search platform, are considering the possibility of selling the business. This was reported to Kommersant by two sources in investment circles.
According to the information, the company's value is estimated at more than 23 billion rubles, or about 300 million US dollars. However, the press service of Aviasales said that no negotiations have been held regarding the sale of the company and no preparations have been made for the sale. The official statement noted that there are currently no negotiations with specific potential buyers.
Another source of the publication did not rule out that investment funds that own the main shares may collect offers from interested parties, but emphasized that the business will not be sold at a low price.
Investment banker Ilya Shumov estimates the value of the company at at least 300 million US dollars (about 23.16 billion rubles). According to him, the fact that a significant part of the service is located abroad makes an objective assessment difficult. The sources also note that the complex ownership structure, the presence of assets outside of Russia and the high price may create obstacles in the sales process.
According to experts, large banks may act as buyers. In recent years, a significant part of customers has been moving to the ecosystems of financial institutions. Earlier, it was reported that Alfa-Bank was in talks to acquire the aggregator Tutu.ru, but the bank denied these reports.
