Yesterday it became known that the Russian team of Mercury, which specializes in retail sales of luxury goods, bought the auction house Phillips de Pury & Co. The deal is not disclosed. Chapter House, Simon de Piura (Simon de Pury) remains its chairman and one of the shareholders.

Phillips de Pury & Co. specializes in the sale of works of contemporary art, photography and design, as well as rare books and jewelry. Auction House conducts a public auction, selling off works of art auctions, organizes exhibitions and art collectors helped shape the collection. The boom in the art market is well affect the results of Phillips: the first six months of 2008 the volume of sales the auction house has grown by 80 percent over the same period last year. Phillips head offices in London and New York. Negotiations between the auction house and Mercury Group began in July 2007.

Representative Phillips April Chaylds (April Childs) has stated that under the wing of the Russian retailer offers luxurious auction house, new growth opportunities. She also said that Phillips is going to hold auctions in Moscow. The main specialization of the auction house is modern art.

Among the holdings Mercury - TSUM shopping center and boutiques set in Tretiakov traveling in Moscow, as well as shopping complex Barvikha Luxury Village in Moscow. The company has long «friends» with the art: in October 2007 in the exhibition galleries Barvikha Larry Gagosyana, and in May this year in an TsUMe exhibition of contemporary Chinese art« China, more! ».

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: bloomberg.com , liveauctioneers.com , artinvestment.ru