Rambler hires consultants from IMHO VI

As reported by Kommersant , Rambler Media is negotiating to sell the share of its Index20 online advertising agency to IMHO VI, a member of Video International Group. True, there is one condition. To use the relevant option, IMHO VI should double Rambler Media's revenue from display advertising in 2008 to $ 40 million. Apparently, Index20’s lack of effectiveness is the main reason for hiring consultants and investors in the industry’s largest IMHO VI agency. now successfully sells advertising for both Yandex and Mail.ru.

IMHO VI Chairman of the Board, Arsen Revazov (pictured), explained that there is no talk about selling yet. First, IMHO will advise the Index20 team on improving sales and introducing new technologies. “If following the results of 2008, Rambler earns more than $ 40 million on media advertising with our help, then IMHO will become a co-owner of Index20,” he said. “The size of the option is just being negotiated.” It is possible that IMHO VI will not even have to pay anything in cash, but the share will be given to it as payment for services.

Currently Index 20 is fully controlled by the Rambler Media Group through Rambler Media Ltd (1%) and Index20 (Europe) Ltd (99%). The revenues of the Rambler Media Group Internet unit in 2006 reached $ 29.9 million, EBITDA - $ 3 million. In the first half of 2007, these figures were $ 18.4 million and $ 540 thousand, respectively. The company claims that 50% of this revenue comes from media advertising (banners, pop-ups and other formats).

Agency IMHO VI exists since 1998. In 2002 entered the group "Video International". He sells advertising on the main page and Yandex mail, the main pages of Mail.ru (until the end of 2007), Auto.ru, Afisha.ru, Gazeta.ru, Newsru.com and other portals. The turnover in 2006, according to experts, was $ 45-50 million.
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In October, IMHO VI signed an agreement for 2008 on the sale of part of the Rambler Media advertising space (Rambler.ru, Lenta.ru). The contract includes one of the three advertising spaces on the first pages of Rambler.ru and Lenta.ru, and the postal service Rambler.ru. The amount of IMHO VI liabilities to Rambler Media is $ 14 million per year. Thus, in order to realize its option, IMHO VI should help Index20 to raise more than $ 26 million. To experts, this task seems very ambitious, almost unreal.