Goltsblat BLP, the Russian practice of international law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), has advised Fasten (owner of Saturn and RedTaxi brands), a major player on the taxi aggregator market in Russia, on its merger with RuTaxi.

UFG Private Equity, an existing investor in Fasten, has now become both investor and main shareholder in the newly merged company, which aims to increase fulfilled orders by almost 25% (up to 1.5 million per day). This would see the newly merged company join the World’s Top 5 ‘Ride on Demand’ Apps as rated by number of orders per day.

The agreement has established a single shareholding structure combining the personnel, technologies and software packages of both companies.

Goltsblat BLP’s dedicated team was led by Corporate/M&A Partner Matvey Kaploukhiy. Associates Mikhail Filatov and Anastasia Kudryashova were also on the team.

Matvey Kaploukhiy, said: “We are delighted to be part of this landmark deal merging two major players on the Russian taxi aggregator market. We would like to wish our client all the best in delivering its objectives and thank it for the trust put in our firm.”

Anton Sitnikov, Partner, Head of Corporate/M&A, said: “We are happy that our wealth of expertise and experience in advising on M&A transactions enabled us to support this momentous project. I would like to say a special thank you to all members of the team contributing to the project.”