bne IntelliNews – In a major Russian fintech deal, the TCS banking group sees Tochka
Banking group TCS, which runs Russia’s only pure online bank Tinkoff, is considering buying Tockha fintech service for SMEs and entrepreneurs for RUB 20 billion ($317 million), Kommersant reported daily citing unnamed banking sources.
The potential deal shows that the fintech market in Russia is maintaining enough momentum despite the fallout from the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, Tochka appears to have gained value ahead of the sale.
Tochka offers one-stop-shop online financial services to over 0.5 million SMEs and entrepreneurs. It was founded in 2018 as a joint venture with e-payment system Qiwi (50%), Otkritie Bank (40%), with an additional 10% minus 1 share retained by Tochka’s management led by Boris Diakonov and Eduard Panteleev.
In September 2021, troubled Qiwi lost its online gaming revenue stream and sold its 40% stake in Tochka to Otkritie for RUB 5 billion, valuing the entire business at RUB 11 billion. In March 2022, Otkrytie sold 90% of its shares to state-controlled Trust Bank.
Trust (Trast) Bank, a “bad” asset bank bailed out by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) in the 2019 banking sector, is now putting Tochka up for sale for double the valuation it bought the fintech runner. up for.
Kommersant Sources claim that Tinkoff Bank, a major consumer credit bank that has avoided Western sanctions, is considering buying Tochka for RUB 20 billion. Tochka representatives confirmed to Kommersant that “the key shareholder… is considering the possibility of selling to large financial industrial groups from the top 100”.
Analysts and lawyers surveyed by Kommersant believes that TCS will have to approach the minority shareholders with a buyout offer. Regarded as one of the best Russian fintech projects, Tochka shows an example of how an asset can actually grow in value under sanctions.
The synergies between Tochka and Tinkoff Bank look logical to analysts, with comparable SME banking market shares and range of digital fintech services.
To recall, former investor darling TCS was recently snapped up by sanctioned oligarch Vladimir Potanin, who is rebuilding his banking empire. The bank remains one of the major Russian consumer lenders that remains unsanctioned.
After TCS founder Oleg Tinkov published a sharp criticism of the “crazy war” in Ukraine on social media, Tinkoff Bank immediately distanced itself from the founder and Tinkov was forced to sell the banking group to Potanin.
Most recently, Tinkov said he will compete and try to remember the Tinkoff brand after renouncing his Russian citizenship. But TCS shrugged off threats from its founder and posted strong results for 9M22.
