Sberbank buying Yandex.Money service
MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - Sberbank of Russia will be purchasing the Yandex.Money (Yandeks.Dengi) service from Internet search engine Yandex.
Sberbank chief German Gref told the press that the agreement between the parties will be signed on Wednesday.
This past October, Yandex Financial Director Alexander Shulgin told Interfax that the company was looking to wrap up a deal for the sale of a controlling stake in Yandex.Money to a strategic buyer in twelve months. A deal might be struck with a buyer from the financial market, he said at the time.
Yandex's report for the third quarter classified Yandex.Money as an asset for sale. Its book value is 1.7 billion rubles, and it carries 1.3 billion rubles in obligations. Per US GAAP, the asset is qualified as being for sale if company management has reason to believe that a deal will take place in twelve months' time.
Yandex revenues from commission on online payments were up 40% at 133 million rubles in Q3.
"We are actively seeking an opportunity to sell majority control in Yandex.Money to a strategic buyer," Yandex materials say.
Yandex had been considering the possibility of finding a bank partner for the development of its payment service. In Q3, the Central Bank licensed Yandex.Money as a non-banking lending organization. Receipt of this status does not wipe out the possibility of partnering with banks for Yandex.Money, Yandex chief Arkady Volozh said at the end of July.
He had said previously that the possibility of partnership with banks involved either a partner investing in Yandex.Money capital or the purchase of some other player by Yandex itself. Yandex conducted an analysis of banks with this aim in mind last year.
Shulgin said in October that the Yandex.Money business would better develop in convergence with a financial service, with Yandex remaining a technological partner. "With Yandex's resources on the one hand, and the possibility of a new strategic partner on the other, Yandex.Money could move to a new level of development," Yandex.Money Press Secretary Asya Melkumova told Interfax at the time.