The Russian Internet giant Mail.ru said on Tuesday that it had bought the remaining stake in Vkontakte, the country’s largest social network, that it did not already own for $1.47 billion.
The acquisition comes as concerns are rising that Vladimir Putin’s government is placing increased restrictions on how information is spread across the Internet. It also comes as the Internet and social media have become a tool during the continued political standoff between Russia and Ukraine.
The deal for Vkontakte, which has more than 60 million Russian users compared with Facebook’s 10 million users in the country, also ends tensions between Alisher B. Usmanov, the Russian billionaire who controls Mail.ru, and Vkontakte’s minority shareholders, including the local investor United Capital Partners.
Both sides have clashed over how best to develop the Russian social network, and have been embroiled in a recent lengthy legal dispute over who owns the Internet company.
The uncertainty over Vkontakte’s future had led Pavel Durov, the social network’s young founder regarded as Russia’s equivalent to Mark Zuckerberg, to resign briefly this year, only to subsequently change his mind about leaving his post.
As part of the deal announced Tuesday, Mail.ru said that it had bought the outstanding 48 percent stake in Vkontakte, also known as VK, that it did not already own for $1.47 billion from companies connected to United Capital Partners.
Under the terms of the deal, Mail.ru, United Capital Partners and Mr. Durov also said that they had agreed to end their legal disputes over Vkontakte.
“We respect the successful results driven by VK’s team and do not plan any significant changes in the team or the product itself,” Mail.ru’s chief executive, Dmitry Grishin, said in a statement.
The company’s share price rose 3.3 percent in afternoon trading in London on Tuesday.
Mail.ru’s acquisition of Russia’s largest social network, however, has raised concerns about Internet freedom in the country.
During local protests in 2011 and 2012, Vkontakte had provided a platform for many anti-government campaigners to voice their concerns.
Yet Mr. Usmanov is seen as an ally to Vladimir Putin, and analysts say that the acquisition could potentially lead to a clampdown against anti-government dissent.
The success of Vkontakte, which started in 2006 and now has roughly 240 million registered users, comes despite strong competition from Western rivals, including Facebook, to break into the Russian market.
Although the likes of Google and Facebook have come to dominate many parts of the Internet, Russian Internet companies – including the search engine Yandex – have held on to much of the local market, often expanding into other areas like e-commerce and financial services.