Russia’s No 2 investment bank Troika Dialog is in talks to sell a 30% stake in itself to South Africa’s Standard Bank through a new share issue, business daily Vedomosti reported on Wednesday.
Vedomosti quoted an unnamed investment banker as saying Standard Bank was currently conducting due diligence of the Russian company and has valued the stake at $150-million to $200-million. Troika needs the money to refinance debt.
Gor Nakhapetyan, Troika’s managing director, declined to comment. A source close to Troika’s top managers confirmed talks had been held.
”This way of development looks reasonable and we can’t rule out anything,” the source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters, adding that talks could produce an outcome no earlier than the end of February.
A Standard Bank spokesperson had no immediate comment. ”Standard Bank does not comment on market rumours,” the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.
However, it pointed out that Russia was an important strategic market.
”We’ve been there for over 10 years, and as with all key markets, we continuously assess our position, including considering acquisition or growth opportunities.”
Russian investment banks have been severely hit by a market collapse as the global economic crisis freezes demand for investment banking products such as IPOs and debt issues, which had been extremely profitable during the economic boom.
Renaissance Capital, Troika’s biggest peer, sold a 50% stake in itself to Russian metals and banking tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov last September for $500-billion.
At the time, Troika’s core owner, Ruben Vardanyan, rejected he was in talks to sell his bank. — Reuters and Sapa