Sberbank acquires 5.618% of RTS shares
MOSCOW. Feb 25 (Interfax) - Sberbank has acquired 5.618% of shares in OJSC RTS, the operator of the RTS stock exchange, the bank said in a press release.
Bank management approved acquisition of a stake in RTS on February 18. It purchased 8.99 million ordinary shares (5.618% of voting shares) on February 24.
The investment, which is for the long term, has significant growth potential, the press release says.
"We are not disclosing details of the deal," including the identity of the seller, the bank said.
Because Sberbank is already a major shareholder in MICEX, purchase of a stake in RTS gives it direct influence over the process of creating new, contemporary trading infrastructure on the Russian stock market, Deputy CEO Bella Zlatkis is cited in the press release as saying.
The RTS was valued at $1.15 billion in an appraisal conducted in connection with MICEX's acquisition of a controlling stake in RTS. On that basis, Sberbank might have paid about $65 million for the stake.
A Deutsche Bank spokesman said last week that Deutsche Securities had sold its 9% stake in RTS. It did not disclose details of the deal.
Other major shareholders in the RTS include Troika Dialog (10%), KIT Finance (10%), Alfa Bank (9.6%), Aton (9.8%) and Renaissance Broker (8.2%).
MICEX reached agreement to purchase a controlling stake in RTS in early February, with cash and stock. The RTS shareholders who agreed to sell their stakes were Renaissance Capital, Alfa Bank, Aton, Troika Dialog and Da Vinci Capital, which manages about 15% of RTS shares.
In February media reports said KIT Finance had sold its stake to a broker acting on behalf of MICEX on terms close to those agreed with the other shareholders.
RTS$#&: ALFB, CITB, SBER, TROY