Yandex, N.V. has accepted for the sale of Russian assets, comprising its Yandex search engine in the context of an agreement worth $475 billion in rubles (roughly $5.2 billion).
A report of a forthcoming sale surfaced in November. The sale is still subject to approval from the regulator and shareholders.
The sale. Yandex N.V. is the Dutch owner of the Yandex Group, agreed to sell all of its Russian-based assets including Search to a consortium comprised of:
- The senior executive team in its Russian companies.
- The company is based in Russia. PJSC Lukoil Petroleum Co.
- Russian businessmen Alexander Chachava, Pavel Prass and Alexander Ryazanov.
The deal could have been more than twice the price, but were not for the “mandatory discount” in the manner TechCrunch said:
- “The reason for this discount is a rule that was imposed by the Russian Government that requires that any selling of Russian assets through parent companies that are incorporated in countries considered as hostile by Russia as a result of sanctions, is subject to a mandatory discount that is at least 50. The Netherlands is part of the EU bloc which has issued sanctions against Russia and has imposed sanctions on Russia, falls under the category of ‘unfriendly.
The reason to sell. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered substantial tensions and a flurry of activity for Yandex (or ” extraordinary problems” according to it was stated in Yandex press release stated). This was accompanied by Nasdaq the suspension of trading in Yandex shares, the sale of several divisions, and losses in financials.
The future for Yandex. Yandex management informed it’s Russian staff that they would “remain completely independent” Reuters said.
Why should we care. Yandex Search (often known as “the Google of Russia”) is utilized by more than 60 percent of Russians and is the leading advertising platform. Search marketers who are operating on the market (or may in the near future) it is worth keeping an eye on whether the change in ownership results in significant modifications for Yandex Search.
