Sberbank inks non-binding deal to buy stake in Mail.ru’s co-holder

MOSCOW, Oct 29 (PRIME) -- Russia’s biggest bank Sberbank has signed a non-binding agreement to buy a minority stake in MF Technologies (MFT), a shareholder of Internet company Mail.ru Group, from Gazprombank, and a binding agreement can be signed by the end of 2019 upon receipt of all permits, Sberbank said on Tuesday in a statement.

“Sberbank sees considerable potential in the online-to-offline platform it’s creating together with Mail.ru Group to work in food delivery, the restaurant business, transportation, and a number of other areas,” the bank said.

“The bank shares and supports the strategy pursued by Mail.ru Group, which focuses on technology leadership, a wider range of high-quality services meeting clients’ everyday needs, and greater customer experience. Two mutually reinforcing ecosystems working together to maximize their synergy should create new opportunities for clients.”

MFT owns 5.23% in Mail.ru, or 58.87% of votes. Gazprombank has 35% in MFT, which is also co-owned by mobile operator MegaFon, industrial corporation Rostec, and USM.

South Africa’s Naspers owns 27.6%, or 12.3% of votes in Mail.ru, China’s Tencent has 7.4%, or 3.3% of votes, and China’s Alibaba Group has 10%, or 4.5% of votes.

End