Moscow Exchange (MOEX), Russia’s largest securities exchange group, acquired a 70% stake in INGURU, a major e-commerce platform dedicated to offering insurance and banking products. MOEX may increase ownership to as much as 100% over a period of five years.
The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed but MOEX said that the purchase price will depend on INGURU’s operational and financial performance.
INGURU’s platform provides customers with options to compare and purchase a range of services (“OSAGO” compulsory automobile insurance, “KASKO” comprehensive insurance, mortgages, credit cards, consumer loans, car loans, deposits, debit cards and microloans).
With a monthly audience of “over 1 million people,” INGURU claims to the market leader in the OSAGO segment. Sixteen insurance companies (Rosgosstrakh, AlfaStrakhovanie Group, Renaissance Insurance, SOGAZ, VSK, Ingosstrakh, Soglasie, MAKS and others) have access to the platform.
Commenting on the acquisition, Yury Denisov, Chief Executive Officer of Moscow Exchange, stated:
“INGURU is one of the leaders in Russia in financial marketplaces for individuals. The acquisition of the platform is part of our strategy to enter markets adjacent to our existing business. The service will be integrated into the Finuslugi platform and will expand the range of products offered to clients. INGURU has a great deal of expertise and will continue to develop the platform as part of the Finuslugi team.”
Personal finance platform Finuslugi was launched by MOEX in October 2020, offering
Russian residents the possibility to select loan offerings from across the country and open deposits online with any bank, all without visiting a branch.
The Inguru team will continue developing the platform as part of the Finuslugi team.
According to the latest official announcement, the partnership between MOEX and INGURU within Finuslugi will expand opportunities for customers and enable them to select the most favourable insurance and banking services.
For his part, Rustam Khasanshin, founder of INGURU, said:
“We are confident that our cooperation with Moscow Exchange will be as effective as possible, allowing us to take the platform’s services to a new level.”
Last month, MOEX announced its results for the first quarter of 2021. Record fee income from the Equities and Derivatives Markets as well as strong performance by the Money Market and Depository & Settlement Services helped the exchange sustain double-digit Fee and Commission (F&C) income growth (up 17%) to RUB 9,252.9 million.
Operating income was up 7.2%. F&C income accounted for more than 70% of operating income for the third consecutive quarter. EBITDA increased by 13.9% and the EBITDA margin improved to 73.0%. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 71.7%. Net profit stood at RUB 6,835.3 million (up 15.8%) while adjusted net profit was up 1.6%.
According to a press release, Mr Denisov in the quarters ahead expects the exchange to see stronger activity on the Bond Market and he is optimistic about the growth of MOEX’s business this year.
In April, total trading volumes across Moscow Exchange’s markets grew by 12% to RUB 95.7 trln (RUB 85.5 trln in April 2020). Growth leaders were the Derivatives Market (+32.6%), FX Market (+15.8%), Equity Market (+13.4%), Money Market (+5.3%), Precious Metals Market (up 19.9x) and the Standardized OTC Derivatives Market (up 11.7x).
