Original article published in Izvestia
Author: Vladimir Zykov
The company Mamba (ZAO Mamba, developer of the dating site Wamba) has acquired 100% of Russia’s most popular premium (paid) dating site, Teamo (OOO Teamo.ru). Izvestia was informed of the deal by both companies. The transaction amount was not disclosed, but experts estimate it at $25–40 million.
"This gives us access to new traffic. Mamba has a very close relationship with Mail.Ru, and we hope to receive traffic from them," said Andrey Burin, head of Teamo. "In the near future, our entire team—about 20 people—will relocate to Mamba’s office on 1905 Goda Street. However, Teamo will remain a separate business operating under its own legal entity. It’s too early to say whether there will be any staff changes."
Andrey Bronetsky, CEO of Wamba, stated that they plan to optimize some of Teamo’s payment channels and scale its traffic.
"It’s difficult to predict all upcoming changes at this stage. Of course, there will be adjustments, but we don’t plan anything radical for now," Bronetsky said. "Teamo will continue operating as usual, and we will conduct an audit to identify areas for improvement."
Interestingly, in January 2013, Teamo acquired the premium dating site Monamour.ru from Mamba. Before the merger, Teamo.ru had 1.4 million users, while Monamour.ru had 4.5 million. After merging and removing duplicate accounts, Teamo.ru’s database grew to 5.5 million users. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but FINAM Global estimated the 2013 transaction at around $10 million. Currently, the domain Monamour.ru redirects to Teamo.ru. Notably, 40% of Teamo’s users are unique—meaning they are not registered on other dating sites.
The Russian legal entity OOO Teamo.ru was owned by the Cypriot company Nerkanda Holdings Limited (whose shares were sold in the deal). Previously, it was held by three investors: Fastlane Ventures, UMJ Bank, and eVentures. The stakes and transaction amount remain undisclosed. The financial company AMarkets (formerly AForex) estimated the deal at $25–40 million.
According to kartoteka.ru, the Russian entity OOO Teamo.ru reported losses for two consecutive years:
2013: Loss of 6.48 million rubles (revenue: 100.5 million rubles)
2014: Loss of 56.66 million rubles (revenue: 164.7 million rubles)
Burin stated that their company always had an "operational profit" but did not rule out that local reporting might show a "loss."
Meanwhile, ZAO Mamba performed better:
2013: Profit of 103.38 million rubles (revenue: 623.6 million rubles)
2014: Profit of 71.9 million rubles (revenue: 588.5 million rubles)
"Teamo has a relatively compact audience (about 5 million registered users), but a very high percentage of premium accounts, ensuring stable cash flow," said Artem Deev, head of the analytical department at AMarkets. "Given that Mamba and Teamo operate in fundamentally different segments, we shouldn’t expect a merger of their functionalities. However, there is strong potential for cross-promoting Teamo to Mamba users dissatisfied with its pay-to-promote profile model. This could significantly expand Teamo’s audience and provide Mamba with an additional monetization tool for its existing user base."
Anna Bodrova, senior analyst at Alpari, believes the deal has a "rehabilitative" effect for Mamba.
"Users have been complaining for the past couple of years about the platform’s declining quality and the inability to date ‘without commitments.’ Teamo has a better reputation in this regard," Bodrova noted. "Perhaps Mamba’s owners aim to rectify the situation through this acquisition. Additionally, business consolidation is a factor. Teamo’s audience includes at least 6 million registered users, with 350,000–400,000 active monthly users."
ZAO Mamba is 70% owned by Finam Investment Company, with Mail.ru Group holding the remaining 30%.
"This gives us access to new traffic. Mamba has a very close relationship with Mail.Ru, and we hope to receive traffic from them," said Andrey Burin, head of Teamo. "In the near future, our entire team—about 20 people—will relocate to Mamba’s office on 1905 Goda Street. However, Teamo will remain a separate business operating under its own legal entity. It’s too early to say whether there will be any staff changes."
Andrey Bronetsky, CEO of Wamba, stated that they plan to optimize some of Teamo’s payment channels and scale its traffic.
"It’s difficult to predict all upcoming changes at this stage. Of course, there will be adjustments, but we don’t plan anything radical for now," Bronetsky said. "Teamo will continue operating as usual, and we will conduct an audit to identify areas for improvement."
Interestingly, in January 2013, Teamo acquired the premium dating site Monamour.ru from Mamba. Before the merger, Teamo.ru had 1.4 million users, while Monamour.ru had 4.5 million. After merging and removing duplicate accounts, Teamo.ru’s database grew to 5.5 million users. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but FINAM Global estimated the 2013 transaction at around $10 million. Currently, the domain Monamour.ru redirects to Teamo.ru. Notably, 40% of Teamo’s users are unique—meaning they are not registered on other dating sites.
The Russian legal entity OOO Teamo.ru was owned by the Cypriot company Nerkanda Holdings Limited (whose shares were sold in the deal). Previously, it was held by three investors: Fastlane Ventures, UMJ Bank, and eVentures. The stakes and transaction amount remain undisclosed. The financial company AMarkets (formerly AForex) estimated the deal at $25–40 million.
According to kartoteka.ru, the Russian entity OOO Teamo.ru reported losses for two consecutive years:
2013: Loss of 6.48 million rubles (revenue: 100.5 million rubles)
2014: Loss of 56.66 million rubles (revenue: 164.7 million rubles)
Burin stated that their company always had an "operational profit" but did not rule out that local reporting might show a "loss."
Meanwhile, ZAO Mamba performed better:
2013: Profit of 103.38 million rubles (revenue: 623.6 million rubles)
2014: Profit of 71.9 million rubles (revenue: 588.5 million rubles)
"Teamo has a relatively compact audience (about 5 million registered users), but a very high percentage of premium accounts, ensuring stable cash flow," said Artem Deev, head of the analytical department at AMarkets. "Given that Mamba and Teamo operate in fundamentally different segments, we shouldn’t expect a merger of their functionalities. However, there is strong potential for cross-promoting Teamo to Mamba users dissatisfied with its pay-to-promote profile model. This could significantly expand Teamo’s audience and provide Mamba with an additional monetization tool for its existing user base."
Anna Bodrova, senior analyst at Alpari, believes the deal has a "rehabilitative" effect for Mamba.
"Users have been complaining for the past couple of years about the platform’s declining quality and the inability to date ‘without commitments.’ Teamo has a better reputation in this regard," Bodrova noted. "Perhaps Mamba’s owners aim to rectify the situation through this acquisition. Additionally, business consolidation is a factor. Teamo’s audience includes at least 6 million registered users, with 350,000–400,000 active monthly users."
ZAO Mamba is 70% owned by Finam Investment Company, with Mail.ru Group holding the remaining 30%.