Google to Buy Russian Agency Begun for $140 Million

Google Inc., the world's most-used Internet search engine, agreed to buy a Russian advertising company controlled by Rambler Media Ltd. for $140 million to tap growth in the country's online ad sales.

Google will buy 100 percent of ZAO Begun, Moscow-based Rambler said today in a statement. Rambler, which runs Russia's third-largest Internet search engine, will pay $69.9 million to Bannatyne Ltd. for its 49.9 percent stake in Begun.