The internet company has finally acquired Vkontakte, bringing an end to a three-year financial, legal and political saga.

Mail.ru Group, the LSE-listed Russian Internet giant, has announced it now fully controls Vkontakte (VK.com), the leading Russian language social network with over 250 million registered accounts and 60 million daily users.

The group, which already owned 52% of the company, bought the remaining 48% stake from UCP, the Russia-based investment fund that had become a VK shareholder in April last year. The all-cash transaction amounted to $1.47bn.

The move put an end to a three-year-long saga over the ownership…