Russian Finance Ministry buys 50% stake in Sberbank, from central bank

Russian finance ministry bought a controlling stake in Sberbank, the country’s biggest bank, from the central bank on Friday for 2.14 trillion roubles ($28.31 billion), a ministry statement said, according to the Reuters.

The ministry said it paid 189.44 roubles per Sberbank share in a deal where it acquired a 50% stake in the bank. The central bank would transfer the remaining one share it kept in Sberbank by May 6, 2020. ($1 = 75.5926 roubles).

„The Ministry of Finance of Russia has acquired a controlling stake in Sberbank PJSC from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation – 50% of the authorized capital, or 52.32% of the bank’s entire pool of voting shares, with one ordinary voting share of Sberbank still owned by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The purchase is part of the placement of funds of the National Wealth Fund of Russia.”, according to the statement.

Herman Gref, CEO, Chairman of the Executive Board, Sberbank:

“I would like to thank the Central Bank of Russia for its extremely positive contribution to the development of Sberbank as its largest shareholder, and I welcome the National Wealth Fund of Russia represented by the Ministry of Finance of Russia as the new shareholder. In fact, via the National Wealth Fund the whole nation of Russia is becoming a Sberbank shareholder and the main beneficiary of its operations.”