Benzinga | Apr 29, 2021 06:55AM EDT

Yandex Targets $14.7M Acropol Bank Acquisition For Banking License

* Yandex NV (NASDAQ: YNDX) inked an agreement to acquire Acropol Bank for $14.7 million (RUB 1.1 billion).

* The acquisition will help Yandex to obtain a banking license to develop Yandex FinTech vertical and launch comprehensive digital finance products and services for users and partners.

* Yandex will receive universal banking license, broker, dealer, and depositary licenses under the arrangement. The purchase price includes a $1 million (RUB 75 million) premium to capital.

* Over 85% of Acropol's assets are represented by highly liquid instruments, including cash, government bonds, bonds, and deposits of the Central Bank of Russia. Acropol does not have any offline branches.

* Yandex held $3.1 billion (RUB 231 billion) in cash and equivalents as of Mar. 31, 2021.

* Price action: YNDX shares traded higher by 1.37% at $65.85 in the premarket session on the last check Thursday.