From the «the sanctions were a factor» department:
Feed: Engadget
Title: Yandex sells its Russian operations to local executives for $5.2 billion Author: Sarah Fielding
Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2024 08:15:54 -0500
Link:
https://www.engadget.com/yandex-sells-its-russian-operations-to-local-executives-for-52-billion-131554719.html?src=rss
Yandex, often described as Russia’s Google, has sold its domestic businesses at
a knock-down price. Bloomberg reports[1] the search and services giant, now headquartered in the Netherlands, has handed off its Russian operations for 475 billion rubles ($5.2 billion) in cash and shares. The new owners include the management group, as well as Russia’s biggest domestic energy company, Lukoil,
and Russian businessman and a former executive at Gazprom, Alexander Ryazanov, among others. Now that Yandex has cut ties with Russia, it will be able to grow and partner more freely given the sanctions affecting businesses with Russian ties following the invasion of Ukraine[2].
Since the war, Yandex[3] has faced repercussions such as removal from Nasdaq. Its founder, Arkady Volozh, faced European Union sanctions in the summer of 2022
due to the company reportedly supporting Russian propaganda. The company soon sold its news aggregation service, and Volozh openly condemned the war.
Reports that Yandex would cut ties with Russia[4] first emerged in late 2022. At
the time, the company was facing sanction repercussions and was rumored to have no path forward to grow projects without Western technology. However, it took a year and a half of negotiations between Yandex and the Kremlin (a necessary step) for Yandex NV to be allowed to separate from its Russian businesses. The final deal came with at least a 50 percent discount, a customary practice when the Kremlin deems the registered country — in this case, the Netherlands — unfriendly.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/yandex-
sells-its-russian-operations-to-local-executives-for-52-billion-131554719.html?s
rc=rss
Links:
[1]:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-05/yandex-parent-cuts-ties-to-russia-in-5-2-billion-unit-sale?sref=10lNAhZ9 (link)
[2]:
https://www.engadget.com/the-us-senate-wants-answers-over-starlinks-ukrainian-satellite-internet-denial-091047225.html (link)
[3]:
https://www.engadget.com/uber-looks-to-speed-up-sale-of-russian-ride-hailing-app-yandex-004029321.html (link)
[4]:
https://www.engadget.com/russian-tech-giant-yandex-cut-ties-russia-113131537.html (link)
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