VK sells stake in Tochka Bank

The Russian internet group VK has sold its 25% stake in Tochka Bank. The buyer is Interros, the holding company of Vladimir Potanin. The purchase price is 21.2 billion roubles, the equivalent of around 255 million US dollars. This paves the way for Potanin's T-Technologies to further expand its influence on the digital bank and take full control in the future. The transaction fits into Potanin's broader expansion strategy in the financial and technology sector. Both T-Technologies and Interros are under his control. T-Technologies, which emerged from the former TCS Banking Group, has expanded in recent years not only in the banking business, but also in the fintech and technology sector. This already includes the acquisition of 64 percent of the fintech service Tochka, as well as investments in the Russian technology group Yandex and the cloud provider Selectel. With the acquisition of the UK stake, a full takeover of Tochka Bank is now also within reach. Tochka Bank itself specializes in small and medium-sized enterprises and, according to the company, serves around 800,000 customers. This makes it one of the most important digital financial platforms for Russian SMEs. The deal is likely to have been financially worthwhile for VK. According to The Bell, the Group only acquired the stake for 11.6 billion roubles in the fourth quarter of 2023. It is now selling it for almost double that amount. Added to this are dividends amounting to 4.3 billion roubles, which VK is said to have received during the holding period. The sale also shows how shareholding structures in the Russian technology and financial sector are continuing to shift. For Potanin, the move is a further building block in the expansion of a closely interlinked ecosystem of banking services, digital platforms and technology investments. The post VK sells stake in Tochka Bank appeared first on ostwirtschaft.de.