TCS Group thinking about M&A in different spheres for development of ecosystem
MOSCOW. March 11 (Interfax) - TCS Group , the parent company of Tinkoff Bank and Tinkoff Insurance, is thinking about acquiring companies in different areas to achieve synergies with its existing ecosystem units, Tinkoff Bank CEO Oliver Hughes told reporters Thursday.
"We have a lot of different fast-growing, fast-growing business lines in payments, lending, transfers, in the sphere of small and medium-sized businesses and the relevant support services, in investments and brokerage services, of course, and a lot more, so there may be prospects in all these areas specifically in terms of M&A that give us new complementary business and new growth opportunities, new targets for our existing and future customers," Hughes said.
The group is already in acquisition talks with various potential companies, he said.
The area for possible investment is quite broad and includes the e-commerce market, but not in the usual form that exists in Russia now, Hughes said.
"We have no plans and never have had plans to enter the Russian e-commerce market in the way everyone perceives it, the way it is now set up in the form of Wildberries, Ozon , Yandex.Market, and so on. They are doing great, and they are developing this market on their own. We have no plans to enter this market, but the e-commerce market in the broader sense is huge. There are a lot of different more specialized areas, and there's a lot to do for players like us, who have a large growing customer base, technology, different payment solutions, logistics expertise and many other things," he said.
Earlier Thursday, TCS Group announced plans to temporarily suspend dividend payments until the end of 2021 as it continues to explore organic and inorganic business opportunities. It is management's belief that allocating capital to additional growth now is the best way of guaranteeing a sustainable and profitable business into the future.
The Tinkoff ecosystem, apart from the bank and insurance company, includes projects such as Tinkoff Business (services for SMEs), Tinkoff Investments, Tinkoff Mobile (a virtual mobile operator), Tinkoff Travel (a platform for purchase of railway and airline tickets, hotel reservations and car rental), and lifestyle services.
The principal shareholder of TCS Group is Oleg Tinkov's family trust, which owns 35.1%.
