Topmall.ua, an online marketplace where goods are traded, has signed a "media for equity" deal worth $3.2 million with the biggest Ukrainian broadcasting group, owned by billionaire Viktor Pinchuk. The deal with StarLightMedia was announced on Oct. 9 during a news conference at the IDCEE information technology conference in Kyiv.
The broadcasting group consists of six popular television channels — STB, ICTV, Novyi Kanal, M1, M2, and QTV. In exchange for an undisclosed share of Topmall’s equity, media group has committed to provide the company over $3 million worth of TV advertising over the next two years.
Following the concept of “smart money,” StarLightMedia is committed to not only selling airtime, but also in developing the online platform’s marketing strategy, without interfering with other operation management activities.
Topmall.ua, which raised $5 million from Viktoriya Tigipko’s TA Venture in April 2013, is an online marketplace platform where clothing, footwear, children’s goods, sporting equipment, as well as electronics and household goods are sold. Its daily audience reaches 20,000 users. As of Oct. 9, Topmall had partnerships with 33 stores that offer a total of more than 160,000 items.
According to the Topmall’s news release, its agreement with StarLightMedia is the first media for equity deal on the Ukrainian venture market. TA Venture managing director Tigipko, who took part in the announcement, said that her fund already has a few similar contracts signed for its portfolio companies in Europe.
“It’s very important to launch this process in Ukraine,” she told the Kyiv Post. “When there’s no cold cash (on the market), we can consider any alternative funding sources.”
Tigipko also added that such deals are not limited to TV advertisement, and in the future, TA Venture will consider similar arrangements with other media, even though they wouldn’t be as extensive as the one announced.
Andrii Degeler is the Kyiv Post’s information technology reporting fellow. Degeler has been covering the IT business in Ukraine and internationally since 2009. His fellowship is sponsored by AVentures Capital, Ciklum, FISON and SoftServe. He can be reached on Twitter (@shlema) or [email protected].
