Sberbank to Buy Troika in State Push Into Investment Banking

OAO Sberbank, the state lender that holds roughly half of Russians’ savings, agreed to buy Troika Dialog to move into investment banking as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s government embarks upon its biggest asset-sale program since the 1990s.

State-run Sberbank agreed to pay $1 billion for 100 percent of Troika, including the 63.6 percent held by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ruben Vardanian and his partners and 36.4 percent held by Johannesburg-based lender Standard Bank Group Ltd., Sberbank Chief Executive Officer German Gref told reporters in Moscow today. The lender will also offer an earn-out, or payment tied to performance, to shareholders after three years, he said.