Report: Sberbank in talks to buy 30% of Ozon after extra issuance

MOSCOW, Jun 5 (PRIME) -- Sberbank is in talks to buy a large stake in online retailer Ozon, four sources close to the matter said, as Russia’s biggest bank prepares to sever its ties with tech giant Yandex, Reuters reported late on Thursday.

The proposed Ozon deal is part of Sberbank boss German Gref’s plan to create a one-stop technology platform offering a wide range of financial and other services.

Sberbank is ending two online joint ventures with Yandex, having long failed to agree on strategy with the Internet company, and plans instead to join telecoms-to-medicine firm Sistema and private equity group Baring Vostok as Ozon stakeholders.

Under the draft plan, Sberbank could end up with a stake of around 30% in Ozon after the retailer issues additional shares, two of the sources said, because neither Sistema nor Baring Vostok want to sell out.

A banker close to the deal said that an agreement was nearly ready. Sistema and Baring Vostok each own around a 40% stake in Ozon, one of the rare winners in the coronavirus crisis as online purchases boom amid a nationwide lockdown.

The sources did not say how much Sberbank will pay for the stake or how Sistema’s and Baring Vostok’s stakes will change.

“Shareholders are not going to leave. Additional share issue is being considered so Sberbank can join as third equal majority partner,” one of the sources said.

Sberbank and Ozon told PRIME they do not comment on rumors.

An official representative of Sistema said the holding does not comment on the reports regarding Ozon.

“Amid accelerated rates of Ozon’s growth in the conditions of the pandemic we see an increased interest to the company from investors and confirm our plans for (Ozon’s) initial public offering (IPO),” the representative told PRIME.

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