Otkritie Holding JSC and its unit Otkritie Investments Cyprus Ltd. intend to make a cash tender offer for up to 24,794,253 outstanding Class B ordinary shares — including those represented by U.S. depositary shares — of QIWI plc at a price of $28 per share.

The planned tender offer is in line with Otkritie's strategy to invest in the fintech area and deepen its strategic cooperation with QIWI, one of leading providers of next generation payment services in Russia and the CIS countries.

If the tender offer is successful, the buyers and their affiliated parties will own 63.85% of QIWI's Class B shares, up from the current holding of 8.85%, Otkritie said in its June 10 filing. The tender offer will be valid for at least 20 business days from its official commencement. Otkritie expects QIWI's U.S. depository shares to remain listed on NASDAQ after completion of the tender.

The offered price represents a 19% premium over QIWI's June 9 closing share price of $23.53 and an 87.86% premium over the average year-to-date closing price of $14.91 per share.

Otkritie Holding and its unit also noted that they initiated discussions and are considering cooperation opportunities with QIWI's controlling shareholder, Saldivar Investments Ltd., and Sergey Solonin, the main shareholder of Saldivar and CEO of QIWI. The companies said, however, that the discussions are at a preliminary stage and no agreements are expected to be reached until the completion of the tender, while the offer itself is not contingent on the outcome of those discussions.