Investor Maxim Krippa became the new owner of NAVI: everything known about the deal
In October 2022, the Ukrainian multi-game esports organisation Natus Vincere (NAVI) officially changed its owner. The new beneficiary is a citizen of Ukraine, businessman Maksym Krippa.
The NAVI press service officially confirmed the changes in the ownership structure.
Oleksandr Kokhanovskyi, a co-founder of NAVI with 20 years of experience in esports, initiated the sale of shares in 2018. He decided to raise additional funding for the company's development in this way. Kokhanovskyi and Krippa agreed that the process of changing ownership would last for 4 years: during this time, the investor had to complete a number of tasks to close the deal.
In 2018-2022, the team used the new investments to achieve the following goals
- opened an academy in the CS and Dota 2 disciplines. The academy is open to young players who want to play esports at a professional level;
- two NAVI Academy players reached Tier 1 in their chosen discipline;
- built a new modern office in Kyiv with a gaming penthouse;
- started working on the opening of a similar complex in Berlin.
In 2022, the Unified State Register of Legal Entities listed Max Crippa as the ultimate beneficiary. NAVI's press service clarifies that although public information about the deal has only become available now, partners and stakeholders were informed long before.
Who is Maxim Krippa?
Maxim Vladimirovich Krippa is a venture capitalist with assets in IT, GameDev and real estate. He does not lead a public life, so there is little information about the businessman on the web.
Maxim Krippa: photo from his personal archive
NAVI took into account the entrepreneur's position on non-publicity, so for a long time they did not see the need to announce negotiations. He completed the deal to acquire the team in the summer of 2022, which was officially registered in state registers.