The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), together with the investment platform Mubadala Investment Company and other Middle Eastern sovereign funds, bought out 7.85% of the shares in the AliExpress Russia joint venture from Alibaba Group.

When establishing a joint venture (JV) in 2019, RDIF reserved the exclusive right to acquire a 7.85% stake in the joint venture from Alibaba Group, and the corresponding option was exercised on January 28. As stated in RDIF, the deal "accelerates the development of the growing digital economy in Russia by pooling the resources and experience of all shareholders."

Director General of the Fund Kirill Dmitriev said that "a significant increase in e-commerce volumes allows us to predict further robust growth in AliExpress Russia, including in connection with the coronavirus pandemic and changes in consumer preferences in favor of online shopping." He also expects the joint venture to become one of the largest marketplaces in Europe.

The deal to create the AliExpress Russia joint venture was closed in October 2019. By the end of November of the same year, the number of unique AliExpress users in Russia reached 24.9 million people per month.

Original (in Russian)