OREANDA-NEWS. MAYKOR, a leading Russian provider of IT and Business Process Outsourcing services, today announced the completion of the merger of its banking services unit with BTE Group, a Russian provider of banking equipment services. With the merger, MAYKOR's banking equipment servicing resources are combined with BTE's assets to form a new MAYKOR subsidiary, BTE.

MAYKOR now owns 75% of BTE while BTE's former owner holds the remaining 25% stake. MAYKOR utilized investment received in 2013 from a consortium comprised of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the CapMan Russia Fund II to finance the merger.

As a MAYKOR subsidiary, BTE will have access to MAYKOR's extensive network consisting of 83 branches and 4,000 service professionals throughout Russia. This complements its team of experts allowing it to strengthen its comprehensive banking equipment maintenance services. BTE will also continue its focus on delivering the high level of service that the banking industry demands through streamlined business processes including its Service Desk system.

A key aspect of the merger is the creation of Russia's largest Repair Center offering banking equipment repair and parts restoration. The center enables BTE to provide not only first level support services that keep customers' operations running efficiently such as primary diagnosis and replacement of consumables, but also second level support related to repair and restoration of equipment. BTE is also in the process of establishing a competency center focused on banking equipment to provide training and skills development on products from a wide range of vendors.

For MAYKOR, the merger solidifies its position as a one-stop-shop provider in Russia for all major industries including banking. The company offers comprehensive IT infrastructure, systems engineering and business applications support, and helps customers with new branch openings anywhere in the country. MAYKOR also provides business solutions as a service (BSaaS) such as managed print services, workplace as a service and workforce management as well as business outsourcing process (BPO) services such as HR outsourcing, accounting and tax accounting and records management.

"The number of ATMs and POS terminals in Russia has increased tremendously over the past 5 years and banks today face the challenge of supporting this growth in their infrastructure in a cost effective manner. As a result, many organizations in the banking industry have turned to outsourcing this aspect of their business. As a leader in this space, MAYKOR has definitely seen a growing demand for our services. With BTE as our subsidiary, our offerings for this industry are enhanced and we can ensure a high level of service to both our banking clients' and their end customers," commented MAYKOR's president, Sergei Sulgin.

Maxim Nikitin, BTE's former chairman of the board of directors and now Managing Partner of the new subsidiary, added, “As part of MAYKOR, BTE can now deliver the full cycle of services, from presales to implementation of contracts to servicing of banking equipment. We can take full advantage of the extensive banking industry expertise MAYKOR has, as well as the specialized services it provides."

BTE Group had been providing banking equipment services to the Russian market since 2007. The company specialized in servicing ATMs, POS terminals and electronic queueing systems. Its key clients included Russian Agricultural Bank, Sberbank of Russia, Gazprombank, VTB24, Promsyazbank, Orient Express Bank, MTS Bank, Rosgosstrakh Bank and Leto Bank. Existing client contracts that were in effect with BTE Group at the time of the merger will continue to be executed in full by the new subsidiary.