Page 15 - bne_Tech_06_2019

Fintech & E-commerce
June 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
Russia's internet major Yandex and online bank TCS flirt with merger idea
IntelliNews Pro
The heads of Russia's internet major and most valuable digital company Yandex and county's leading commercial lender and only pure online bank TCS Group discussed the idea of a merger during the panel at the Saint Petersburg Interna- tional Economic Forum.
The head and main shareholder of TCS Oleg Tinkov argued that Russia will follow the Chinese model of conglomeration of large online resourc- es with leading lenders, suggesting that one such conglomeration could form around Mail.ru inter- net major, MegaFon mobile operator, and quasi- state Gazprombank.
Yandex, is another major player and could either team up with Russia's largest bank Sberbank or TCS, Tinkov suggested, estimating that a united Yandex-TCS entity could be worth over $20bn.
"A company like Yandex needs a bank. They can either set up their own or merge," Tinkov argues. Yandex and Sberbank set up a joint venture mar- ketplace Yandex.Market, but after the rumours that
the state-controlled bank could be staging a hos- tile takeover of the private internet company, the Yandex has reportedly distanced itself from other major deals. This was indirectly confirmed by Sber- bank investing into Ramber Group as the online media backbone of its future digital ecosystem.
Tinkov reminded that Sberbank holds a "golden share" in Yandex capital, which could potentially block any integration attempts.
However, such plans currently remain but specu- lations. "This is an interesting option, one of other great options... Tinkov is spreading rumours, that are possibly unsubstantiated," the founder and CEO of Yandex Arkady Volozh told the press at the side-lines of SPIEF, as cited by Reuters.
Possibly, Tinkov has brought up the option of Yandex merge to heat up the price of TCS shares ahead of the upcoming $300mn SPO that the banking group recently announced.
Russia's Mail.ru closes Alibaba deal with 15% stake and big upside
One of the largest deals in Russian digital and e-commerce space moved another step towards completion, as partners of the AliExpress Russia (AER) joint venture signed off on a Heads and Terms agreement.
The Mail.ru Group (MRG) is expected to get a 15% economic stake and 16.3% voting stake (assuming the Russian Direct Investment Fund exercises its option), with total Russian shareholders having a 50.1% voting stake when the JV deal closes and