Major Russian mobile phone operator Mobile TeleSystems MTS has acquired 51% of blockchain company Factorin for RUB867mn ($11.7mn).

Factorin is the developer and owner of an innovative blockchain-based platform for trade finance transactions with a focus on supply chain finance and invoice factoring. The acquisition is aimed at expanding MTS Group’s portfolio of digital financial services for B2B clients.

Factorin’s innovative platform provides a comprehensive solution for supply chain financing by digitising financial interactions between buyers, suppliers and banks. The platform provides factoring and other trade finance services for leading Russian retailers and their suppliers, including Magnit and Dixy Group as well as MTS's own retail network (RTC).

"This deal is yet another major step forward in the development of digital products and enhanced services for our B2B customers," Ilya Filatov, MTS VP for Financial Services and MTS Bank CEO, said in a statement.

"Factorin is not only a fast-growing and high-tech trade finance platform, it provides a unique offering that fully leverages all of the advantages of blockchain technology," he went on to say. "I am confident that the addition of Factorin into MTS Group will accelerate our growth and further reinforce the company's leading position."

"Factorin is leveraging the latest innovations to not only offer our customers a full spectrum of advanced trade financing solutions, but also launch fundamentally new products that would be impossible to build using traditional technologies," added Andrei Maklin, Factorin co-founder & CEO. "For example, we are enabling corporate clients to set up their own platforms that provide their suppliers and buyers with attractive offers from a variety of financing providers."

"In just two years, we have built the largest trade finance platform in Russia," he went on to say. "With this deal, we are adding the resources of a powerful partner in order to help meet growing market demand as well as unlock additional opportunities and competitive advantages for our users. Combining MTS’s scale and expertise with Factorin’s blockchain solutions will help us qualitatively transform fintech services for the Russian B2B segment."