The two joint ventures will work together to supply digital payment and financial services for the e-commerce sector in Russia.
Mail.ru Group’s contribution to the payments joint venture will amount to RUB 4.5 billion in assets, consisting of a 100 percent stake in non-bank settlement credit institution Money.Mail.Ru (LLC) and VK Pay payment system. The two assets will continue being used as financial and payment instruments within the company’s ecosystem. Mail.ru Group will be the largest shareholder in the payments joint venture with a 40 percent stake.
Mail.ru Group’s contribution into the financial services joint venture will be RUB 870 million worth of cash in exchange for a 5.95 percent stake in the joint venture. USM’s contribution into that joint venture will include a 100 percent stake in ASK Renessans, a 100 percent stake in Round Bank, a 100 percent stake in InPlat, plus other assets and cash.
Other shareholders, including the Ant Group, RDIF and Megafon, will contribute cash, assets or a combination of cash and assets into both joint ventures.
A committee of the board has been formed to oversee the progress of the deals. The committee received third party assessments from Deloitte and a fairness opinion from UBS, which acted as the financial adviser.
The deals are expected to close this year after satisfying a number of conditions including third party approvals. Upon completion, Russian shareholders will own majority stakes in both the payments joint venture and financial services joint venture.
