Sberbank — M&A Activity 2012

Dec 19, 2012

19.12.2012 15:24

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Sberbank and Yandex Announce Joint Venture for Electronic-Money Solutions

December 19, 2012, Moscow - Sberbank of Russia and Yandex today announced a strategic partnership in the area of e-money, through the establishment of a joint venture on the Yandex.Money platform. Sberbank and Yandex plan to be at the forefront of developing innovative online retail payment solutions by combining Sberbank's banking expertise and Yandex's internet technologies.

Sberbank and Yandex will form a joint venture through the acquisition by Sberbank of a 75% interest in the charter capital of Yandex.Money for \$60M, with Yandex retaining a blocking interest in the JV (25% plus one ruble). Evgenia Zavalishina, Yandex.Money's current CEO, will head the JV. The JV's board of directors will include two representatives of Yandex - Evgenia Zavalishina and the company's CEO Arkady Volozh, joined by three members representing Sberbank of Russia - Alexandr Torbakhov, Denis Bugrov and Viktor Orlovskiy.

Developer teams of Yandex.Money and Sberbank have already started together on planning new projects. New products will leverage existing Yandex.Money technologies and will be released under the Yandex.Money brand. Yandex.Money users will remain customers of the existing legal entity Yandex.Money, a non-banking credit organization operating under a license issued by the Central Bank of Russia.

'Expanding our presence in the digital world and developing online solutions is one of our operational priorities. In Yandex, we have found the optimal partner to significantly strengthen our position in the fast growing market of electronic commerce and internet payments,' said Herman Gref, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Sberbank. 'Yandex.Money products have become an industry standard for electronic payments in the Russian. We are investing not just in internet technology, but rather in an independent profitable business which is keen to considerably expand its customer base.'

'The universe of online payments is changing at an extremely rapid pace and the potential for electronic payments extends far beyond the internet. We have long been looking for a partnership in finance to help drive our business to a new level. But this opportunity has been considered only in the context of a joint development of our service. We are very happy that Sberbank has become our partner,' said Arkady Volozh, CEO of Yandex.

'A leap in quality is only possible with a very strong partner. And Sberbank of Russia is the largest bank in Eastern Europe,' said Evgenia Zavalishina, chair of Yandex.Money's board of directors. 'The bank's team has an extensive experience and expertise in finance, along with tens of millions of clients, many of whom do not yet have much online experience. In turn, Yandex, has tens of millions of internet users and an extensive experience in developing highly popular consumer services. By combining efforts, we are aiming to create unique products to meet the growing needs of all consumers.'

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013. At this time all the key terms and conditions have been agreed and the timeline for closing the deal is subject to standard conditions precedent to similar deals being satisfied, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals.

Advisors to Sberbank on the deal: Sberbank CIB (financial advisor), White&Case (legal counsel), KPMG (financial, tax, commercial and IT due diligence). Advisors to Yandex: Morgan Stanley (financial advisor), WilmerHale and Laseta Partners (legal counsel).

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Sberbank of Russia is the largest bank in Russia and holds almost one third of all Russian banking sector assets. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is the founder and major shareholder of Sberbank, owning 50% of the total share capital plus one voting share. Other shares are held by more than 245,000 individual and institutional investors. The Bank has the largest distribution network in Russia with over 19,000 offices as well as subsidiaries in 20 countries including the CIS, Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey. In September 2012, Sberbank completed the acquisition of

DenizBank AS which is ranked 6th among private and 9th among all Turkish banks by consolidated total assets.

and Turkey. In September 2012, Sberbank completed the acquisition of

The Bank holds the general banking license No.1481 issued by the Bank of Russia. The official website is www.sberbank.ru.

19.12.2012 EquityStory.RS, LLC's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

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Language: Company:	English Sberbank 19 Vavilova St. 117997 Moscow Russia
Phone:	+7-495-957-57-21
Fax:
E-mail:	media@sberbank.ru
Internet:	www.sberbank.ru
ISIN:	US80585Y3080, RU0009029540, RU0009029557
Listed:	Open Market (Entry Standard) in Frankfurt; MICEX, RTS
Category Code:	MSC
LSE Ticker:	SBER
Sequence Number:	1292
Time of Receipt:	Dec 19, 2012 15:24:06

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