Gett raises $100m in Russian bank loan

Gett CEO Shahar Waiser Photo: PR
Gett CEO Shahar Waiser Photo: PR

Sberbank is extending a venture loan to expand the business of Israel's taxi-hailing app.

Israeli taxi hailing and delivery service Gett (formerly GetTaxi) has announced that it has signed an agreement to receive a $100 million loan from Russian bank Sberbank. The financing will be used for Gett's business expansion including mergers and acquisitions.

The credit agreement, the first of its kind provided by the Sberbank Group, is a venture loan which is based on the existing business connections between Gett and the bank in several areas. To date Gett has raised $640 million including a $300 million investment from German carmaker Volkswagen earlier this year,

Gett CEO and founder Shahar Waiser said, "Gett, which signed a strategic cooperation agreement earlier this year with Volkswagen, the world's leading car manufacturer, now continues with a strategic financial cooperation with Russia's leading bank. With the assistance of these collaborations, Gett can strengthen its position as the leading player in its field in Europe."

Sberbank's head of merchant banking Oskar Ratsin said, "This is the start of a new and exciting era for Sberbank CIB in which we will work in close cooperation with entrepreneurs such as Shahar Waiser in financing the most dynamic companies and become their partners in a relatively early stage of their development."

Sberbank SVP and acting head Igor Bulantsev said, "as part of the digitalization process that we are undergoing and emphasis on projects combining breakthrough technologies, a deal such as this that we have signed today, which represents an opportunity to finance a digital deal, is especially important for our strategy. We are happy to support Gett as a company aspiring to develop its business in Russia, which is one of our important markets, and outside of it.

Gett operates in more than 100 cities worldwide including Tel Aviv, New York, Moscow and London.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 30, 2016

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016

Gett CEO Shahar Waiser Photo: PR
Gett CEO Shahar Waiser Photo: PR
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