(Adds detail, Yandex response)
MOSCOW, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Discussions over a $5.48 billion
cash-and-shares sale of online bank Tinkoff to Russian internet
giant Yandex have been terminated after they failed to
agree transaction terms.
Tinkoff's parent company TCS Group Holding said on
Friday that it had agreed with Yandex not to proceed
with the transaction but Tinkoff would continue to partner
Yandex on current and future projects.
Yandex, meanwhile, expressed regret that it was unable to
agree definitive transaction terms with Tinkoff's core
shareholders.
The internet company said the parties had mutually agreed to
terminate discussions regarding a possible offer for Tinkoff,
which has more than 10 million customers across Russia.
TCS and Yandex had announced they were in talks on Sept. 22,
a few months after Yandex said it was terminating its
partnership with Sberbank.
Tinkoff now intends to develop independently, the Interfax
news agency reported, citing a bank representative.
The termination of the deal hit Yandex shares, sending them
2.7% down to 4,628.2 roubles ($58.35), their weakest level since
Sept. 22.
($1 = 78.1565 roubles)
(Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy and Nadezhda Tsydenova
Writing by Alexander Marrow and Andrey Ostroukh
Editing by David Goodman)