Two acquisitions were announced yesterday in the Russian fintech space. Yandex, the NASDAQ-listed digital major, agreed to fully purchase Acropol Bank. The deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval, amounts to 1.1 billion rubles (approximately $14.7 million).
“The strategic rationale for the transaction is to obtain a banking license required to develop the Yandex fintech vertical and launch comprehensive digital finance products and services for our users and partners,” Yandex stated. The company will also receive broker, dealer, and depositary licenses.
On its side Tinkoff Group, which owns one of the world’s largest digital banks, announced it closed the acquisition of a majority stake in Beskontakt (CardsMobile). The terms of the transaction remain confidential.
Beskontakt’s main asset is a popular digital wallet called Koshelek (‘Purse’). It aggregates banking cards and retail loyalty programs. Koshelek partners with 19 Russian loyalty programs and claims more than 20 million users.
“The application offers retailers access to a new audience, alongside savings on loyalty and discount cards and better customer communication,” Tinkoff says. Koshelek will bring new services to the Tinkoff digital and lifestyle ecosystem — in particular, buy-now-pay-later payment plans and a variety of cashback options,
Several years ago CardsMobile raised funding from IT firm Lanit, then from Alfa-Bank. The latter sold back its 25% stake in 2020 to CardsMobile’s founder Kirill Gorynya, according to TAdviser.
Last year Yandex and Tinkoff considered a megamerger, but the deal fell through.
