Avito Owner Signals IPO Readiness as Russian Rate Cuts Reopen Market

Russia's largest horizontal classifieds platform Avito is ready for a public listing, co-owner Ivan Tavrin has told the Moscow Exchange, without committing to a timeframe.

Tavrin's Kismet Capital Group owns 50% of the business, having bought Avito from Prosus in 2022 for $2.4 billion. The other half was acquired in April by state-owned Rosselkhozbank, which co-financed the original deal.

Speaking to RBC, Tavrin said Avito had followed a similar trajectory to Russian tech peers Yandex, Ozon, VK and T-Bank, which leaned on private capital before listing. He said the company had taken on significant debt through the Prosus buyout but has since cut leverage materially, more than tripled revenue, doubled developer headcount and rolled out new products. Tavrin called the business "truly" ready to list, adding that timing is "this year, next year, or beyond, it's most likely a question of price".

The IPO signal marks a shift for Tavrin. Last June he told Russian companies to "forget about the public equity market altogether" while the Bank of Russia's key rate sat at 20%. The central bank has since cut rates to 15%, and Tavrin had previously indicated Kismet's portfolio would move on a listing once borrowing costs eased.

Avito reported consolidated revenue of RUB 100 billion, around $1.1 billion at the time, in 2023, the latest year for which full figures are available. It operates five verticals: Goods, Automotive, Real Estate, Jobs and Services, plus AvitoTech and Avito Advertising.

The listing talk coincides with an aggressive product push. Avito is testing its Avi and Avi Pro AI assistants, has launched map-based property ads, and has earmarked RUB 12 billion for AI investment by 2028. Real estate alone draws around 43 million monthly users, underlining its scale against vertical specialist Cian and challenger Yandex.