The Russians Are Coming

Online-gaming company Zynga can do a lot of work on the farm, keep the local mob boss happy and stock only the best coffee for its café following a $180 million investment from a group led by Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies, which also pumped more than $200 million into Facebook earlier this year, The New York Times reported.

Zynga games including FarmVille, Café World and Mafia Wars are prevalent throughout Facebook.

According to the Times, DST is using the same strategy it used for Facebook with Zynga: Investing directly in the company while simultaneously buying stock from shareholders, including employees, offering the start-up’s employees and shareholders the option of cashing out before a possible initial public offering.

Other investors included New York hedge fund Tiger Global and venture-capital firms Institutional Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, according to the Times.

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