https://archive.ph/LQh8B
https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/yandex-exits-russia-forced-to-sell-off-assets-at-50-percent-discount-5581825
Yandex Exits Russia, Forced to Sell off Assets at 50 Percent Discount
Tech firm Yandex, popularly known as Russia’s Google, will leave the country after selling its assets for half the value, marking one of the biggest business exits from the nation since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Yandex group, headquartered in Moscow, is owned by the holding company Yandex N.V. (YNV) registered in the Netherlands. YNV announced on Feb. 5 that all of Yandex group’s businesses in Russia and certain international markets will be sold to a purchase consortium for 475 billion rubles (approx. $5.25 billion). Founded in 1997 as Russia’s answer to Yahoo and Google, Yandex is the number one search engine in the country, with Google in second place. The company also owns food delivery, car-sharing, and shopping apps.
The sale value represents a 50 percent discount to the Yandex group’s market capitalization of around $10.2 billion at the end of January.
This is because Russian laws require that companies incorporated in nations deemed to be “unfriendly” to Moscow, like the Netherlands, provide a “mandatory discount of at least 50 percent” of the company’s actual value when selling assets to exit the country. Without the minimum discount, the government will not approve such deals.
If approved, the sale would be one of the biggest corporate exits from Russia since the country invaded Ukraine.
The businesses being sold represent over 95 percent of Yandex group’s consolidated revenues and around 95 percent of the group’s consolidated assets and employees.
At least 50 percent of the sale will be in cash and the remaining in shares. “The cash consideration will be paid in Chinese Yuan (CNH) outside of Russia.” YNV’s Board of Directors has approved the transaction. It now needs to be approved by the shareholders.
The purchase consortium buying Yandex group is composed of four companies and a fund. One company is formed and owned by the Yandex group’s Russian senior management team.
The other three companies are owned by Russian investors. The fund is owned by PJSC Lukoil, a Russian multinational energy corporation. …