Avito.ru, Russia’s Craigslist and biggest online classified site, has closed a new funding round of $75 million, the company recently announced.
The funding comes from Baring Vostok Private Equity Fund IV, Accel Partners, and existing investors Kinnevik and Northzone. The money will be used to fuel the company’s growth and invest in its team.
Launched in 2008, the company touts itself as the leading Internet site in Russia that’s visited by 40 percent of the country’s population. It is Russia only real classifieds site. Ad placement on the site is free, while options such as highlighted ads or advanced search are paid for. The company estimates that the cumulative value of all items traded on its site will top 3 percent of Russia’s GDP.
Roughly 30 million unique visitors visit more than 2 billion pages with a one hour average spent on the site. More than 6 million new items are added monthly by over 3 million users.
“Avito has built a leading position as an innovative marketplace that allows both consumers and businesses to discover and transact with each other”, said Sonali de Rycker, partner at Accel. “The company has the momentum and especially the reach to become one of the most important businesses in the Russian internet. We look forward to supporting the management team in their ambitious growth plans.”
Avito previously raised $26 million back in 2010.