Sber buys 41.9% of Element Group for 27 bln rubles, incl. Sistema's 37.6% stake
MOSCOW. Jan 23 (Interfax) - Sber has acquired a 41.9% interest in microelectronics manufacturer Element Group after buying investment group Sistema PJSFC's 37.6% stake and 4.3% of shares from minority shareholders, Russia's largest financial services group said.
The deal, which has been closed, was worth 27 billion rubles, Sber said. Sistema has completely divested its stake in Element.
Sber also said that it will make a mandatory offer through Integrated Systems LLC to buy out the shares of other Element Group shareholders. "The purchase price will be determined in accordance with the requirements of the law and, considering the price in the deal, will not be less than 0.1372 rubles per share in any case," the press release said.
Element Group was formed in 2019 with the microelectronics assets of Sistema and state corporation Rostec. The group now includes more than 30 enterprises, including leading Russian chip maker Mikron. Element carried out an initial public offering on the SPB Exchange in May 2024 and obtained a secondary listing on the Moscow Exchange in June.
Newspaper Kommersant, citing sources, reported earlier this week that Sberbank had closed a deal to buy Sistema's stake in Element.
Rostec, meanwhile, said Thursday that it would retain its 41.66% stake in PJSC Element following Sber's deal.
"Element now accounts for more than 50% of all Russian production of electronic components. The industry's future path will entail substantial investment in research, modernization of the manufacturing base and development of new products. These plans are tightly linked to the development of the high-tech industry as a whole. Therefore, we welcome the largest Russian bank becoming a shareholder in Element Group," Rostec deputy CEO Alexander Nazarov was quoted as saying in the press release.
"The corporation's exist from PJSC Element's equity successfully concluded an investment cycle begun more than 25 years ago, when Sistema acquired its first assets in the microelectronics sector, which has gone through serious economic difficulties," Sistema said.
The sale of the Element stake to a strategic investor "with a strong reputation and competencies" will give a strong push to the further development of a sector that is crucial for the country, Sistema head Tagir Sitdekov said.
The ownership structure of Element Group divisions is expected to remain unchanged after the deal, with the exception of JSC Robot Corporation, which will be put under the management of Sistema.
"This will make it possible to avoid competition with the assets of Rostec and Sber, which are developing their own projects in this area," Sistema said in its press release.
The acquisition of PJSC Element will not have a significant impact on Sber Group's financial results, but "it will create synergy for the development of priority areas of Sber's technology business and help strengthen Russia's technological sovereignty," the bank said.
The acquisition of the Element stake will be reflected in the bank's financial statements for the first quarter of 2026 according to the equity method.
