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Favorite Motors on the Net
The Russian car dealer holding Favorite Motors and the Japanese investment company M&A Consulting (also known as the Murakami Fund) have teamed up to form the Yoshida Cord., which will launch an Internet car auction under the same name. Favorite Motors will have the controlling share in the business. In two years, M&A may be offered a share in Favorite Motors itself, according to sources close to Favorite Motors owner Vladimir Popov.
Auctions will be held on the Internet twice a week. To participate, a buyer must make a prepayment through a Favorite Motors office. The dealer will also be paid up to 5 percent of the initial cost of the vehicle. The auction winner can pay through Favorite Motors or electronically for his now car. The partners will jointly invest about $120 million in the project, including advertising and the construction of terminals to house the vehicles on auction. There will be four terminals in Moscow, three in St. Petersburg and several in the provinces.
Favorite Motors was founded in 1994. It has six centers in Moscow that sell Hyundai, Ssang Yong, Skoda, Peugeot, Daewoo and Fiat. Its turnover in 2007 was $482.8 million. Popov is the sole owner. Japanese financier Yoshiaki Murakami founded M&A Consulting for investment in telecommunications and Internet business, electronic manufacturing and similar business. In 2005, Murakami owned 40 percent of the industrial holding Hanshin Electric Railway, worth $1.5 billion. In 2006, Murakami was accused of using inside information in the purchase of shares in the Internet company Livedoor. He was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $9.4 million in July of last year.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 16, 2008
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