Sberbank-Yandex JV may hold IPO in 2021-2022, bring in new shareholders in 2019
MOSCOW. May 25 (Interfax) - The joint venture between Yandex and Sberbank based on the Yandex.Market platform may go public in 2021-2022, Sberbank First Deputy CEO Lev Khasis said on RBK television.
The JV might bring in additional shareholders in 2019.
"In some near term it is unlikely to expect, let's say, this year, that someone will join us. But the slightly later outlook, say, next year or 2020, I think we are absolutely open to having more shareholders in our company. And a little later still, say in 2021-2022, we absolutely support the possibility of the company going public," he said.
Sberbank and Yandex announced the completion of the formation of the joint venture in April 2018. The joint marketplace will operate under the Beru brand. Its official launch is scheduled for the fall this year.
Khasis said the project meets the bank's desire to participate in a commercially appealing project that will have "very substantial capitalization in future" at the same time it helps to facilitate sale of products from small and medium enterprises and provide consumers access to those products. As Russia's largest and most extensive bank, Sberbank will increase consumer confidence in online purchasing.
Khasis also said that the list of potential candidates to take a stake in the JV might be fairly broad.
"Speaking of e-commerce, it is absolutely clear that there are competencies that may be lacking at Sberbank and Yandex. For example, as of today Sberbank and Yandex are not the strongest players in the area of fast moving consumer goods, that which is sold in ordinary stores and hypermarkets every day (groceries and so on). It is quite possible that we could make use of the experience of some major foreign companies that have already had success in the e-commerce area," he said.