By Andrei Skvarsky. France’s BNP Paribas is considering a partial buyout of a Russian subsidiary of US-based investment manager Pioneer Investments from Italy’s UniCredit. TKB BNP Paribas Investment Partners, a firm controlled by the French lender and Russian railways monopoly RZD, would take over three funds with total assets of 998m rubles ($31.4m) from Pioneer… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Deals
Mid Europa boosts stake in solar power operator to 95%
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Mid Europa Partners private equity firm has announced it has boosted its stake in Energy 21, the region’s biggest solar power plant operator, to 95%. Mid Europa, the largest private equity firm focused on Central and Eastern Europe, manages funds worth about 3.2bn euros. An independent firm headquartered in London, it also… Continue Reading
Sberbank, VTB seek limits on foreign banks’ access to privatisation deals
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank and VTB, Russia’s two state-controlled banking giants, have complained to the government that foreign banks are getting most of the mandates to sell shares in the current national privatisation programme. In a joint letter to Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, whose duties include general oversight of Russia’s finance system, chief executives… Continue Reading
Vozrozhdenie bank may be sold to Russia’s richest official
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian bank Vozrozhdenie is planning a sellout to Vladimir Kogan, who, according to his 2010 incomes declaration, is Russia’s wealthiest official. The Moscow-based lender is in talks on the potential deal with Kogan, according to Russian daily Vedomosti. Kogan, the 48-year-old director of the construction department at the Regional Development… Continue Reading
EBRD to invest in Russian housing estates
By Andrei Skvarsky. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has committed $20m in a project to build affordable housing in Russia. The EBRD said in a statement it would hold a significant minority stake in the project’s developer, Ecodolie, which is owned by Baring Vostok Private Equity Fund IV. The EBRD is… Continue Reading
TKB Capital puts Otkritie’s Nazarov in charge of equity sales
By Andrei Skvarsky. TKB Capital, an investment bank owned by Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel, has hired Evgeny Nazarov from Otkritie as head of equity sales. A TKB spokeswoman told EmergingMarkets.me that Nazarov had already taken up his duties at the Moscow-based firm, which was bought by Norilsk Nickel from Russian railways monopoly… Continue Reading
Barclays Russia on the block again as Kazakhs back out
Barclays Bank’s deal to sell its Russian retail unit to Kazakhstan’s leading lender by assets is no longer on the cards, according to Kommersant. Kazkommertsbank is believed to have changed its mind after reaching a tentative agreement with the British lender in February. The British bank opted to sell the former Expobank business because it… Continue Reading
Sberbank slashes branch network by 239
By Ivan Anderzhanov. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has cut its retail network by 239 in the first six months of this year even as major foreign lenders retreat from the sector. Data from the Central Bank indicates that rival Russian banks like VTB24, Gazprombank, Alfa-Bank and Rosbank have increased the size of their retail network,… Continue Reading
Russia seeks to lift the lid on Swiss bank accounts
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Swiss government has promised to disclose details of some of the Russian accounts in Swiss banks to Russian authorities. Under an agreement planned for this week, Russia would be able to seek such information if any of its citizens with a bank account in Switzerland is suspected of tax evasion or… Continue Reading
VTB expects bailed-out Bank of Moscow to make rocketing profits
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s state-owned VTB Group, which is taking over Bank of Moscow, expects the latter to make a minimum net profit of 30bn rubles for 2013, a sum equivalent to $954m at the current exchange rate. Bank of Moscow recorded losses of 68.3bn rubles ($2.17bn) for 2010. However, VTB expects the capital city’s… Continue Reading
J.P. Morgan lends $100m to Sberbank
By Andrei Skvarsky. J.P. Morgan has extended a five-year loan of $100m to Sberbank for the “pre-export financing of a corporate client in the Russian oil and gas sector”, Russia’s biggest lender said. The loan “comes at a time of uncertainty about the availability of liquidity in Europe and is testimony to our trusted relationship… Continue Reading
Troika Dialog hires Merrill’s Todd Berman to co-run investment banking
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian broker Troika Dialog has hired Todd Berman from Bank of America Merrill Lynch as co-head of investment banking. Berman, who takes up his new role early next month, will share the job of running Troika’s investment banking business with Igor Sagiryan, who joined the Moscow-headquartered brokerage two years ago, the firm said in… Continue Reading
Troika’s Vardanian quits as head of Skolkovo management school
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian brokerage Troika Dialog’s founder and chief executive, Ruben Vardanian, has stepped down as president of the Kremlin-overseen Skolkovo Moscow School of Management. Vardanian, who will remain involved with the school, heading its Committee on International Cooperation and Strategic Partnerships, has been replaced by Andrey Rappoport, one of the institution’s founding partners.… Continue Reading
Putin-linked lender to buy out Bank St Petersburg
By Andrei Skvarsky. Bank St Petersburg, one of Russia’s biggest regional lenders, is planning to sell out to the Rossiya bank as state-controlled entities mop up privately held banks. Rossiya is controlled by Yury Kovalchuk, a man widely reputed as Putin’s “personal banker”. The two banks, both of which are based in St Petersburg, are… Continue Reading
Sberbank buys 5% stake in Baturina’s Inteco
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank is buying a 5% stake in construction company Inteco from Yelena Baturina, the wife of former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov. Binbank co-owner Mikhail Shishkhanov is buying the rest of the construction firm, which is wholly owned by Baturina and has its market value put at $1.2bn. Inteco’s sale to Shishkhanov and… Continue Reading
Nordic fund CapMan gets chunk of Siberian Web provider
By Andrei Skvarsky. CapMan, a Nordic private equity firm, has acquired 20% interest in Russian Internet service provider Siberian Networks and plans to boost the stake to 25% within months. Siberian Networks projects a turnover of about 15m euros ($21.1m) for 2011. One of the leading Web service providers in Siberia with more than 100,000… Continue Reading
Barclays gets near to Russian exit lounge
By Ivan Anderzhanov. British bank Barclays is close to selling its Russian retail and commercial banking business to Kazcommertzbank, Kazakhstan’s biggest lender. Barclays could agree to the sale of Expobank as soon as next week, according a report by the UK broadcaster Sky News. The UK high-street lender will continue to do business in the… Continue Reading
Russian champanksa maker to go pop with IPO
By Marcus Williams. Russian sparkling wine producer Abrau-Durso is planning an initial public offering at the end of 2011 or the start of 2012. “The shares are likely to be placed on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX), but we are not considering foreign trading floors yet,” a spokespersn told Ria Novosti yesterday. The company,… Continue Reading
Raiffeisen snaps up Swedbank's Russian retail business
By Andrei Skvarsky. Raiffeisenbank has bought a Russian retail business from Swedbank, a Swedish lender with a global network which is shutting its entire retail operation in Russia. Joining the swelling ranks of foreign banks shutting their Russian retail operations, Swedbank offloaded its retail division in Kaliningrad to Raiffeisenbank and plans to sell off its remaining… Continue Reading
Evrofinance Capital asks state to halt Micex-RTS merger
By Andrei Skvarsky. Evrofinance Capital, a Micex minority shareholder, has asked for an official order to reverse the merger of Russia’s biggest stock exchange with the RTS bourse. The merger will be damaging to Micex, its shareholders, the Russian financial markets and the country as a whole if based on the current scenario,… Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Metropol hires Howard and Brenton for London expansion
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian broker Metropol has hired former Nomura executive Mark Howard as head of its London-based equity sales team and ex-Renaissance Capital and UralSib banker Tim Brenton as a member of the team. Howard, who has more than 15 years of emerging markets experience, was selling Chinese equities for North Square Blue Oak,… Continue Reading
VTB-led group buys ad firm from Murdoch’s scandal-ridden News Corp
By Andrei Skvarsky. A VTB Capital-led group of investors has bought advertising company News Outdoor Russia from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. VTB’s partners in the deal were NOOH Investments Cooperatief and Marathon Outdoor Cooperatief. The former represented the interests of US entrepreneur Peter Gerwe, who has been building media companies in Russia and… Continue Reading
UralSib’s insurance arm to have state interest privatised
By Andrei Skvarsky. UralSib Insurance Group, part of Russian bank UralSib, is going to have minority state interest in it privatised through a public auction. The 1.53m shares would be sold en bloc, with the asking price for the stake set at 51.3m rubles ($1.8m), under an order by the Federal Agency for the Management… Continue Reading
Soloviev and Moos buy stakes in VTB
By Andrei Skvarsky. The VTB group, Russia’s second biggest lender, has sold stakes of 0.003% to its deputy president Herbert Moos and VTB Capital chief executive Yuri Soloviev. The two stakes are the biggest chunks of VTB to be owned by top managers of the group. VTB president Andrei Kostin holds 0.0018% interest in the… Continue Reading
VTB announces “strategic investment” in Deripaska firm
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s VTB Capital has bought a 4.35% stake in energy-related firm En+ Group from oligarch Oleg Deripaska’s Basic Element, an acquisition described by VTB as a “strategic investment”. VTB said in a statement it had paid $500m for the stake. “We believe that En+ has an immense growth potential that is primarily… Continue Reading
Swedish investment firm closing its Russia real estate fund
By Andrei Skvarsky Stockholm-based investment company East Capital Explorer has decided to close its real estate fund for Russia as the unit has received no investments since it opened in July 2008. When the global financial crisis broke out, the company, whose area of operations is Eastern Europe, decided to keep its Russian Property Fund… Continue Reading
Barclays considers selling Russian banks to Renaissance
By Ivan Anderzahnov UK bank Barclays may offload its Russian regional retail banking network to a unit of Renaissance Group. Barclays is in talks about selling 12 regional branches to Renaissance Credit, the consumer finance arm of the investment banking group Renaissance, according to Russian daily Kommersant. The British giant acquired Russian lender Expobank in… Continue Reading
Gazprom selects Gazprombank and Rencap for $10bn bond sale
By Ivan Anderzhanov Russian gas giant Gazprom has mandated Gazprombank and Renaissance Capital to arrange a 300 billion roubles ($10.24bn)in bonds. Rouble bonds have become popular on the local fixed-income market following the rapid rise of the ruble and as commodity prices have rallied. . Gazprom plans to raise the sum in 13 issues over… Continue Reading
Rencap eyes brokerages acquisitions in Africa
By Marcus Williams Renaissance Capital, the fast growing emerging markets investment bank, is eyeing deals to buys brokerages in “five or six” African countries. Speaking to the Financial Times, its bullish founder Stephen Jennings said the group expected to close deals within the next few months. Rencap is expanding at breakneck speed 18 months after… Continue Reading