Digital Sky Technologies, the Russian investment group that invested in Facebook this year, has merged an email portal with an online game developer to try to create an Internet powerhouse.
Moscow-based DST said today that it merged its communication portal, Mail.ru, the biggest provider of free email services for Russian-speaking countries, with Russian online game firm Astrum Online, which operates 30 online games.
DST created Astrum Online in 2007 by merging four game developers into one company. The strategy is to combine communications, information and entertainment in a single Internet company, said Yuri Milner, chief executive of DST. After the deal, Mail.ru will become the full owner of Astrum Online. It sounds a lot like AOL to me.
Dmitry Grishin, head of Mail.ru, will be president and CEO of the combined company, while Igor Matsanyuk and Vladimir Nikolskiy will become First Vice President and Vice President, respectively.