Russian bank Gazprombank and state-owned corporation Rostec will become shareholders of internet company Mail.ru Group, under an agreement to set up a new joint venture with Mail.ru's owner Megafon and its parent company USM Holdings. The two companies will acquire stakes in the new company MF Technologies, a joint venture between mobile operator Megafon and USM.
Megafon will contribute a 5.23 percent stake and 58.87 percent of the voting rights in Mail.ru to the new company, receiving USD 247.5 million as a result of the deal. Gazprombank will hold 35 percent of the joint venture, for which the bank will pay USD 157.5 million. Rostec will purchase an 11 percent stake for USD 49.5 million, while the stake of USM Holdings will amount to 9 percent, for which the company will pay for USD 40.5 million.
The deal values MFT at USD 450 million, which Megafon said is a 29 percent premium to Mail.ru's market price on 04 May. Megafon will continue to hold a 10 percent economic stake in Mail.ru and said it has no plans to sell this.
The shareholders plan to work together to develop digital services and implement projects in the digital economy. The partnership will bring together their expertise in telecommunications, IT, financial services and hi-tech sectors of industry and support entry into new markets and the creation of cross-sector industrial solutions.
Megafon said joint projects will include creating software products to digitalise the operations of major companies and developing blockchain-based solutions. The most important project on which active work is already being conducted is the creation of a Financial Digital Platform on the basis of which the parties will develop hi-tech services, including payment, credit and other digital products. The partners will also create a fund, Digital JV, to invest in tech start-ups.
