Moscow, March 02, 2016 CrestPrecise, one of the leading M&A advisors in Russia and the CIS, completes the merger of Pelican-Auto’s and Rolf Group’s automobile retailing businesses, acting in the capacity of exclusive financial advisor to the shareholders of Pelican-Auto.

Vladimir Bardin, CrestPrecise’s Managing Director, commented: “This is a truly landmark transaction for the Russian auto retailing industry in all of its aspects. First, by deal value this is the largest M&A transaction in the industry to date. Second, by deal structure this is the first true merger of businesses – a transaction type new to but long awaited to be implemented by many industry players; at CrestPrecise we expect non-cash true mergers to take up pace going forward and accelerate the long-overdue consolidation of the Russian auto retailing landscape. And finally, being the second transaction in the Russian consumer cyclical space CrestPrecise has advised on in the past 12 months, this transaction proves CrestPrecise’s unparalleled expertise and unique positions in this industry sector.”

This landmark transaction yet again highlights CrestPrecise’s superior ability to successfully execute transactions amidst turbulent markets and vibrant industry environment and CrestPrecise’s institutional commitment to clients’ success.

About Pelican-Auto:

Established in 1996 by Mr. Igor Malyarov and partners, Pelican-Auto operates 4 showrooms in Moscow officially representing 3 automobile brands - BMW‚ Nissan and Skoda.

About Rolf Group’s retail business:

Established in 1991 by Mr. Sergey Petrov, Rolf Group’s auto retailing business operates 39 showrooms in Moscow and St. Petersburg officially representing 18 automobile brands - Alfa Romeo, Audi, Chrysler, Ford, Jaguar, Jeep, Hyundai, Land Rover, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Renault, Skoda, Smart, Toyota and UAZ. Rolf Group is the largest auto retailing company in Russia according to the Forbes 2015 Russia’s Largest Private Companies rating. AutoBusinessReview also puts Rolf Group at the top of both new and used car dealer ratings in Russia for 2015.