Sberbank, the state-controlled financial and digital giant, is in talks to buy a large stake in e-commerce major Ozon, Reuters reported yesterday, citing “four sources close to the matter.” A banker told the news agency that “an agreement was nearly ready.”
The bank would acquire around 30% of the company after the issuance of additional shares. Neither Sistema nor Baring Vostok Capital Partners, Ozon’s current main shareholders with around 40% each, want to sell out, said Reuters’ sources.
“Additional share issue is being considered so Sberbank can join as third equal majority partner,” according to one of these sources.
But the sources said nothing about Ozon’s valuation in the potential deal.
While declining to comment on Sberbank, Ozon CFO Daniil Fedorov told Reuters that Ozon was considering “various strategic routes for financing further development.”
“[An] IPO is among them as the company is of interest to a wide range of public and private investors,” he said.
Sistema also indicated that the strategic plans for Ozon’s IPO – which were announced a year ago – remain unchanged.
With online sales reaching 80.69 billion rubles ($1.25 billion) last year, up 93% from 2018, according to DataInsight, Ozon is number three on the Russian e-commerce scene. Its sales skyrocketed during the Covid-19 crisis: Ozon claims to have delivered in April a record 2.2 million orders of everyday goods – a nearly three-fold increase from April 2019. The site’s marketplace, where one can buy buy groceries, pet and baby products, personal hygiene items and more, is increasingly popular.
Russian e-commerce grew fast even before the pandemic. Online sales of physical goods, which amounted to some $22 billion in 2019, could jump to $50 billion or more by 2023.
Founded back in 1998 on the footsteps of US book and CD seller Amazon, Ozon progressively enlarged its assortment. It is the most well-funded independent e-commerce company in Russia.
Ozon’s giant funding deals over the past ten years looked as follows:
- $100 million in 2011;
- $150 million in 2014;
- $92 million in 2018;
- $154 million in May 2019;
- $150 million in March 2020.
The latest round involved Baring Vostok Capital Partners, Sistema’s corporate fund and a new investor, the US VC firm Princeville Capital, which brought one third of the funding. It was the first significant involvement of a US investor in the Russian digital sphere since 2013.
Sberbank, which used to be Yandex’s surest ally in e-commerce – launching joint e-commerce activities less than two years ago – is now preparing to divorce the search giant. Sberbank will give up its share in these activities while taking full control of Yandex.Money, its other joint venture with Yandex.
Sberbank is also developing ties with Mail.ru Group, a rival of Yandex in the Russian digital sphere.
