Europe’s biggest ridesharing platform BlaBlaCar announced that it has just acquired Russian carpooling business BeepCar from Mail.Ru Group. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Paris-headquartered BlaBlaCar said the deal will help to grow in Russian speaking markets. Beepcar traffic will be redirected to BlaBlaCar as of this autumn, driving advertising revenue for Mail.Ru Group. Handing over its own ridesharing platform to the French ex-rival, Mail.Ru Group now will continue to focus on developing its larger verticals in food delivery, classifieds, cross-border trade, taxi ride-hailing etc.
Russia was already BlaBlaCar’s top market with over 15 million members out of a global community of over 65 million in 20 countries. BeepCar has also seen solid growth in last two years, with total app downloads reaching over 5 million in the second quartes. Nicolas Brusson, co-founder and CEO of BlaBlaCar, said: “Today’s news forms part of a wider strategy to consolidate BlaBlaCar’s international growth. Through this acquisition, we are doubling down our commitment to develop carpooling in Russia, and to address growing Russian demand for a convenient and reliable long-distance mobility solution”.
BlaBlaCar is one of France’s most funded startups, having raised over $330 million in venture funding since its start in 2006. The series D round in 2015 totaling $200 million is still the highest single funding round by a French startup, also giving the company a $1.6 billion valuation.