MOSCOW, April 23 Reuters Russian online bank Tinkoff plans to issue up to 130 million additional shares to help fund a deal to integrate fellow lender Rosbank into its holding structure, the company said on Tuesday.

Both Tinkoff owner TCS Holding and Rosbank are controlled by billionaire Vladimir Potanin39;s Interros group, and the planned integration could strengthen Potanin39;s foothold in Russia39;s banking sector.

TCS Holding, ahead of a shareholder meeting on May 8, said it planned to fund the deal with an additional issue of its shares at 3,423.62 roubles 36.73 each.

In a statement, TCS Board Chairman Alexei Malinovksy said a capital multiplier in the range of 0.91.1 could be used to give Rosbank a fair value.

If approved on May 8, the deal should close by the end of the third quarter of this year, the company said.

Potanin39;s Interros, one of the most powerful private investment companies in Russia, bought a controlling stake in Rosbank from France39;s Societe Generale in 2022, followed by a 35 stake in TCS from businessman Oleg Tinkov.

Potanin has said that both lenders would retain their licences, brands and teams, with Rosbank continuing to focus on corporate and private clients and Tinkoff looking to expand its 40 millionstrong retail client base.

1 93.2050 roubles

Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Jan Harvey

Source Reuters