Potanin not planning further Russian banking M&A -Interfax

　　div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpReuters Businessman Vladimir Potanin is not planning any further Russian banking acquisitions after two highprofile deals, and has turned down a proposal to buy the Russian arm of Italys UniCredit, he told the Interfax news agency on Thursday. p

　　pPotanin, who has evaded U.S. and EU sanctions imposed on Russian business figures deemed to have close ties to the Kremlin, snapped up Rosbank from Societe Generale when the French lender exited the Russian market, before adding a 35 stake https:www.reuters.combusinessrussiantycoontinkovsellsstaketcsgroupbillionairepotanin20220428 in TCS Group.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

　　pBut those deals – done via his Interros holding company along with the acquisition of United Card Services, the Russian unit of U.S.listed Global Payments – are set to be his last.p

　　p“We are not planning any further acquisitions in the banking sector,” Potanin said. “We will focus on Rosbank and on improving its portfolio, technology, client focus and sustainability.” p

　　pPotanin said Interros had bought its TCS stake for several hundred million dollars. TCS, which runs online bank Tinkoff, reported a fall in firstquarter net profit late on Wednesday, but declined to disclose figures.p

　　pTCS founder Oleg Tinkov, who sold Potanin his stake, estimated his holding had been worth more than 2 billion in early March, but said in an interview this month with Russian blogger Yuri Dud he had sold it for “kopecks”.p

　　p“We see no synergy between these banks and treat them absolutely differently,” Potanin said. “For us, Tinkoff is a hitech fintech company, while Rosbank is a classic, conservative bank.” p

　　pPotanin told Interfax that UniCredit had made proposals to Interros about buying its Russian subsidiary, after the Rosbank purchase was made public. p

　　p“But we were not interested in this purchase,” Potanin said.p

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　　pIn other areas, Interros appetite for deals remains sizeable, Potanin said, eyeing stakes in internet giant Yandex, recruiter Headhunter and streaming service ivi. p

　　p“We believe that hitech, along with raw materials business, tourism and financial technologies is where Interros should go,” Potanin said. p

　　pThe businessman, who heads mining giant Nornickel, last December moved his offshore company Interros Capital from Cyprus back to the Russky Island economic zone in Russias far east.p

　　p“Of course, no one could have foreseen that the situation would develop in such a complicated way…but the strategy of deoffshoreisation and redomiciliation of our business has now served us very well,” he said.p

　　p Reporting by Reuters Editing by Mark Potter and Bernadette Baump

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