On Monday, Yandex, which was referred to as the Russian Google before the Russian occupation of Ukraine, came into Russian hands, marking the largest corporate exit since the outbreak of the conflict in 2022.
The former parent company of the majority owner, the Dutch Yandex NV, announced that the second round of share transactions took place according to the original agreement announced in February, in the framework of which 162.5 million shares were handed over to Russian investors for a total value of about 2.8 billion dollars. The value of the entire transaction exceeded 5.21 billion dollars.
Yandex was once identified by the industry as one of, if not the largest, emerging technology giant in Russia. The company offered Western-style search services, online advertising services, or an Uber-like passenger transport solution to its partners and customers, and its shares were also listed on the American NASDAQ stock exchange.
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However, the Russian invasion that started at the beginning of 2022 radically changed the operation of Yandex, as well as many other large Russian and Ukrainian companies. Part of this was also the fact that the company’s billionaire founder, who has been living in Israel since 2014, Arkay Yuryevich Volozs, was put on the EU sanctions list in the summer of 2022, after suspicions arose that the company was actively involved in the spread of Russian propaganda – however, due to Volozs’ later anti-war statements, the Yandex escaped severe sanctions.
At this point, the Kremlin could have decided that Yandex should be completely under Russian control, but in any case, it should be brought under more “nation-friendly” control. According to unofficial information, the negotiations about this started between the parties a year and a half earlier, and in the end, an investment association consisting of four funds called Consortium.First made the irresistible offer for the share package.
Source: www.hwsw.hu
