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Yandex N.V. , the Dutch parent company of the eponymic Russian internet giant , issellingthe last of its remaining Russian business enterprise at a steep discount rate , follow geopolitical pressure that emerged fromRussia ’s invasion of Ukrainetwo years ago .
The economic value of the dealings , which will include the sale of all Yandex N.V. businesses in Russia and a handful of neighboring market place , will amount to around 475 billion rouble ( $ 5.2 billion ) — roughly half of its market capitalization as per the median plowshare damage in the three calendar month ending January 31 , 2024 . The reason for this markdown is due to a rule impose by the Russian Government , which stipulates that any sales event of Russian assets by parent companies incorporated in state deemed “ unfriendly ” by Russia , will be subject to a “ mandatory discount ” of at least 50 percent . And the Netherlands , as a member of an EU axis that has imposed sanctions on Russia , fall into that “ unfriendly ” family .
“Google of Russia”
For context , Yandex was founded way back in 1997 and finally became known as “ The Google of Russia , ” given that it sold products loosely similar to its U.S. counterpart includingsearch , e - commerce , advertising , mathematical function , transportationand more . But while Yandex ’s principal grocery was Russia , the companywent world on the Nasdaqin 2011 via a holding party called Yandex N.V. register in the Netherlands , followed by a junior-grade listingthree years lateron the Moscow Exchange .
Yandex had been performing well as a public company , hitting a peak mart cap of $ 31 billion in November , 2021 . However , in the month that followed , Yandex ’s ploughshare nosedive as Russia occupy neighboring Ukraine , with the Nasdaq putting atemporary stay on tradingbeforedelisting Yandex(alongside several other Russian - affiliated companies ) last March .
Fast - forward to today , and it ’s not much of a surprisal that Yandex N.V. — the parent hold company — is now offloading all remaining asset yoke to Russia . Indeed , manyWestern companiessuspendedoperations in Russiadue to indorsement , and Yandex CEO and laminitis Arkady Volozhwas squeeze out of the companyafter he was place on a list of sanctions egress by the European Union .
Subsequently , Yandexhas already been divestingsome of its properties , admit sellingits news serviceto a rival with near tiesto the Russian State , and the companyannounced plansfor a incarnate restructuring to further distance itself from its Russian roots . Yandex had also said previously that it would re - brand its Dutch holding company , though this had yet to happen — but once this deal concludes , Yandex N.V. has confirmed that it will no longer use the Yandex stigma , as that will be kept by the young Russian owners .
“ We expect that our international businesses will develop their own stigmatization proceed forward , ” Yandex write in a mechanical press release . “ We intend to seek shareholder commendation to change the legal name of YNV in due course of action . ”
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Breaking down the term of the dealings , Yandex N.V. will be give “ at least ” 230 billion rouble ( $ 2.5 billion ) in hard currency , which will be ante up in Chinese Yuan ( CNH ) — presumptively because the buyers , who are all Russia - base , are n’t able-bodied to transact in dollars or euros .
In term of who the buyers are , well , Yandex pronounce it will be a consortium go by elderly managers from Yandex ’s Russian businesses , who will provide some of the skill capital via a limited purpose modified liability ship’s company cry “ FMP . ” Other investors admit an entity called Argonaut , which Yandex says is a closed - terminal common investment combined fund possess by Russian rock oil companyPJSC Lukoil ; “ Infinity Management , ” a particular role joint stock company owned by venture capitalist and entrepreneurAlexander Chachava ; “ IT.Elaboration , ” a special role joint descent company have byPavel Prass , chief operating officer of investment managerInfinitum Asset Services ; and “ Meridian - Servis , ” a special purpose modified indebtedness company owned by businessman and former politicianAlexander Ryazanov .
Notably , the businesses that Yandex N.V. is selling comprise “ more than 95 % ” of the Yandex Group ’s revenue for the first nine months of 2023 , and roughly the same portion of its full assets and employee head count . Put simply , Yandex N.V. will be a much trimmer outfit once this dealing close — its remaining “ non - Russian assets , ” as it puts it , will include four other - stagecoach engineering businesses . These admit an sovereign vehicle company calledAvride ; an AI swarm platform calledNebius AI ; a procreative AI and LLM troupe calledToloka AI ; and edtech platformTripleTen .
Elsewhere , Yandex N.V. will also keep possession of a information centre in Finland , plus some other investments in various technology companies .
The deal , which is still subject to regulatory and shareholder approval , is touted to close in two stages — the first part will see Yandex N.V. sell a 68 percentage stake of the Russian businesses within the first half of 2024 in a mixed bag of cash and shares in the Dutch entity . The 2nd part is expected to fold within seven weeks of that first stage mop up .
The party allege that it contrive to use a chunk of its cash yield from the sale to further develop its remain businesses , and deliver a return to its shareholder .
“ Since February 2022 , the Yandex chemical group and our team have faced exceptional challenges . We believe that we have found the intimately possible solution for our shareholders , our teams and our user in these extraordinary circumstances , ” said Yandex N.V. chairwoman John Boynton in apress release . “ The proposed dealing will allow shareholders to recover some value for the line that we are divesting , while unlock new growth voltage for the international businesses we will retain and enabling the divested businesses to run under new possession . ”
