Shareholders of Dutch-registered Yandex NV approved the sale of "Russia's Google," the country's most valuable technology asset, to a management-led consortium of Russian investors, the company said on Thursday. Yandex, a technology company that operates an internet search engine, last month struck a 475-billion-rouble ($5.27 billion) deal after months of negotiations to sell its assets in Russia at a heavily discounted price due to Kremlin demands on foreign asset sales. Yandex NV said in a statement that it was pleased with the progress made so far on satisfying required conditions, including receiving shareholder approval and a green light from the Russian government's commission for control over foreign investment.
Yandex, a technology company that operates an internet search engine, last month struck a 475-billion-rouble ($5.27 billion) deal after months of negotiations to sell its assets in Russia at a heavily discounted price due to Kremlin demands on foreign asset sales. Yandex NV said in a statement that it was pleased with the progress made so far on satisfying required conditions, including receiving shareholder approval and a green light from the Russian government's commission for control over foreign investment. "The parties continue to work diligently to satisfy the outstanding conditions," Yandex NV said.
Two of Russia's largest corporate exit deals since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine are up for shareholder approval on Thursday, with "Russia's Google" Yandex and major mining assets set to pass to Russian ownership in transactions totalling around $9 billion. Dutch-registered Yandex NV, struck a 475-billion-rouble ($5.27 billion) deal to sell its local subsidiary - Russia's most valuable technology asset - to Russian investors, while precious metals producer Polymetal International is selling its Russian assets to a Siberian gold miner for about $3.7 billion.