Sber, VK agree to sell Citymobil assets to People&People

MOSCOW. April 18 (Interfax) - O2O Holding, a transport and foodtech joint venture between VK and Sberbank , has signed legally binding documents with asset management company People&People on the sale of Citymobil assets.

The deal, which is scheduled to be closed in the second quarter of 2022, will encompass the Citymobil tech platform, the brand, and the channels utilized to attract customers, Sber and VK said in a joint press release on Friday. The price of the deal has not been disclosed.

Some Citymobil employees might migrate to the buyer, as they will be offered new positions with People&People, the portfolio of which includes Gruzovichkof, Taxovichkof and other businesses.

"The deal will position Taxovichkof to boost its share in the market for taxi aggregators and expand its geographic footprint, including in all of Russia's cities with population of one million and above. The move should make taxis more affordable for urban residents," the press release said.

Citymobil's shareholders decided in mid-March to shut down the business, and at the end of that month Citymobil said it would cease operations on April 15.

The statement released on Friday said that the Citymobil passenger app and the Citystart app for drivers will remain up and running after April 15. However, the legal entity OOO City-Mobil will be closed.

The Citydrive carsharing service and the fuel platform will continue their operations as part of the Sber-VK O2O Holding, in which Sber and VK each own 45%.

RBC, citing its own sources, reported earlier that St. Petersburg company Trans-Mission, which owns the Gruzovichkof and Taxovichkof services, was in talks to acquire the information technology, infrastructure and brand of Citymobil.

Citymobil, which established in 2007, developed from a taxi fleet into an aggregator and then into an urban mobility platform that included several types of transport (taxis, electric scooters, carsharing) and other services, such as delivery. Citymobil became part of the VK-Sber joint venture in 2019. Citymobil operates in more than 80 Russian cities.

OOO City-Mobil's revenue jumped 270% to 3 billion rubles in 2021, the company reported in financial statements. However, it posted a net loss of 10.1 billion rubles, compared to 11.8 billion rubles a year earlier.