Sberbank and Gett Announce the Signing of a Seven-Year $100-Million Loan Facility to Fund Gett’s Further Expansion

By LTP

November 30, 2016, Moscow – Sberbank recently announced the signing of a $100 million seven-year venture loan agreement for Gett (formerly GetTaxi), a rapidly-growing global on-demand mobility company with a presence in Russia, the US, the UK and Israel. The funds will be used to finance Gett’s continued business expansion. Furthermore, Sberbank will hold options linked to Gett stock. The transaction was organized by the Merchant Banking and Advisory Department of Sberbank CIB, the corporate and investment banking business of Sberbank, via its investment vehicle, Sberbank Investments LLC (a 100% subsidiary of PAO Sberbank).

Igor Bulantsev, Senior Vice President, Acting Head of Sberbank CIB, commented: “In the context of our drive towards digitalisation and focus on projects involving ground-breaking technology, transactions such as this one – the opportunity to finance a significant digital business – are especially important for our strategy. We are pleased to be able to support Gett as the company seeks to develop its business in Russia, one of its key markets, and abroad.”

This financing shows Sberbank’s strong commitment to investing in the rapidly-evolving knowledge economy and actively supporting leading companies in the sector with the vision and capability to become tomorrow’s market leaders. This venture facility, the first of its kind for Sberbank Group, builds on the company’s existing strategic relationship with the Bank, which extends to a number of areas.

Oscar Ratsin, Vice President, Head of Sberbank Merchant Banking & Advisory, added, “This is the start of an exciting new phase for Sberbank CIB where we will be working closely with entrepreneurs like Mr. Waiser to finance the most dynamic companies and become their partners at a relatively early stage in development. With this transaction, we are announcing that our Merchant Banking & Advisory Department is open for business with rapidly growing tech companies who may not yet have access to traditional bank financing, where venture loans can be an attractive solution.”

Gett is an on-demand mobility company changing how people move around and “Gett” things. A leading provider in Europe, Gett is available in more than 100 cities worldwide, including Moscow, Tel-Aviv, London, and NYC. Gett’s technology enables consumers and businesses to instantly book on-demand transportation and delivery services. Founded in 2010, Gett quickly expanded its offering to also serve businesses. Today, “Gett for business” is trusted by over 5,000 leading corporations. Earlier in 2016, Gett announced a $300 million strategic investment from the Volkswagen Group, bringing total funds raised by Gett to over $640 million.

Sberbank is Russia’s largest bank and a leading global financial institution. Sberbank holds almost one-third of aggregate Russian banking sector assets, it is the key lender to the national economy and the biggest deposit taker in Russia. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is the founder and principal shareholder of Sberbank owning 50% of the Bank’s authorized capital plus one voting share, with the remaining 50% held by domestic and international investors. Sberbank has more than 135 million individual customers and more than 4 million corporate clients in 20 countries. Sberbank has the largest distribution network in Russia with almost 17,000 branches, and its international operations include UK, US, CIS, Central and Eastern Europe, India, China, Turkey and other countries.

Sberbank CIB is the corporate and investment banking business of Sberbank. Its key areas of activity are corporate finance (including trade finance), the documentary business, investment banking services, trade operations with securities, and private equity. Sberbank’s corporate and investment banking business provides integrated financial solutions and investment advisory services to its clients, which include major corporations, financial institutions, sovereign states and federal and sub-federal government bodies and organizations.

First appeared at LTP