EBRD sells 5.3% stake in Moscow Exchange to Softline IT group - media

MOSCOW. Oct 23 (Interfax) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has sold its 5.3% stake in the capital of the Moscow Exchange to Softline IT group, Forbes reports, citing a source familiar with the details of the negotiations.

Forbes' source said that the authorities have approved the sale of the asset to Softline IT group on the terms and conditions of a 60% discount to the exchange price of the shares and the EBRD paying an "exit tax" of 20% of the transaction value.

The EBRD entered the Moscow Exchange's capital in January 2012, with the EBRD and the Russian Direct Investment Fund subsequently acquiring 6.29% and 1.25% of the exchange's shares, respectively, in a joint transaction.

The EBRD was the largest foreign shareholder of PJSC Moscow Exchange . As at April 4, 2023, the EBRD owned 120,472,902 shares, or 5.3%, of the exchange's shares. According to trading data as on October 20, the value of the package on the Moscow Exchange was estimated at 22.8 billion rubles.

The price of the EBRD's share package should be 9.1 billion rubles when accounting for the 60% discount. The EBRD should receive around 7.28 billion rubles, or $76.3 million at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of Russia as on October 20, after paying the "exit tax" totaling 1.82 billion rubles.

Russia joined the EBRD in 1992. The bank suspended investments in Russian projects in 2014, and Russia's access to the bank's resources has been frozen since April 2022. The EBRD has closed its offices in Moscow, though Russia remains a shareholder in the EBRD.

The EBRD in May 2022 announced that it intended to exit all Russian assets "as soon as possible".

PJSC Softline is an IT solutions provider, and is the parent company for Russian assets that were previously part of Softline Holding PLC global group. Softline Holding in the summer of 2022 divided its business into Russian and international entities, thus Russian business with Softline's holding company became independent from the international perimeter, with international business continuing to operate under the Noventiq brand.