Ozon agrees to acquire Oney Bank from Sovcombank

By Megha Bhattacharya

Russian e-commerce platform Ozon has signed an agreement to acquire Oney Bank from Russia’s third-largest privately-owned bank, Sovcombank. The transaction is not expected to exceed $10 million. Ozon stated that while they themselves are acquiring a bank, and gaining a set of licenses in the process, they will continue to actively cooperate with other banks and fintech companies.

Vahe Ovasapyan, Vice President, Ozon Financial Services, commented, “The acquisition of a bank enables Ozon to implement our product vision in fintech. Our goal was to acquire an asset which we can integrate into our fintech business expediently and efficiently. Furthermore, transparency and reliability of the acquisition target were key criteria for Ozon in concluding this transaction. Sovcombank is our longtime partner and we have had a constructive business relationship for a number of years, developing B2B and B2C products. This deal will give us additional flexibility in launching financial services for our customers and marketplace sellers. This includes faster payment services with lower commissions. I am excited about the near-term development and the long-term outlook for the fintech business at Ozon.”

Whilst Ozon is acquiring the bank to enhance its own financial services offering, the Company will also continue to actively cooperate with other banks and fintech companies to finance the loan book and to develop new products and services for the benefit of the customers and sellers on the Ozon platform.

Sovcombank Management Board Chairman Dmitry Gusev noted, “We acquired Oney Bank with the intent to merge it into Sovcombank. However, when we were approached by Ozon, which was looking for a smaller bank for potential integration into its own business, we agreed to a deal and decided to sell this banking asset to our long-time partner.”