By Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow
(Reuters) -Tech company Yandex’s Dutch holding company is considering selling all its Russian assets in one go rather than just a controlling stake, three people close to the matter told Reuters, as parties race to finalise a deal before the end of the year.
Yandex, which has been working on a corporate restructuring for months, declined to comment.
Dutch holding company Yandex NV’s planned restructuring is aimed at recouping some shareholder funds with the sale of its main revenue-generating Russian businesses, such as its search and ride-hailing operations. It then plans to develop four other business lines internationally.
Often referred to as “Russia’s Google”, Yandex was one of the few Russian companies with genuine global ambitions before Moscow started its war with Ukraine in February 2022. Yandex dominates the taxi and online advertising sectors in Russia.
Yandex NV may sell 100% of a holding company set up in Russia’s Kaliningrad region, said one of the people. Another said Yandex NV’s complete exit was quite likely, though not definitively decided.
A third source said this scenario would see Yandex NV make a clean break with Russia. Sources explained that buyers may not end up acquiring 100% of the assets, with Yandex management and other Russian investors possibly in line for stakes.
One of the people estimated the total value of the deal at 560 billion roubles ($6.18 billion), once accounting for a 50% discount that the Kremlin demands for foreign asset sales.
Another person said the transaction would be around $5 billion.
In May, sources told Reuters that Russian billionaires had tabled bids, offering around $7 billion for half of the company.
“Russia acquires control for less,” the third person said.
($1 = 90.6340 roubles)
(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander MarrowEditing by David Goodman)
