Yandex, NV has agreed to sell its Russian assets, including the Yandex search engine, as part of a deal worth 475 billion rubles (approximately $5.2 billion).
Reports of an impending sale emerged in November. The sale will still need regulatory and shareholder approval.
About the sale Yandex NV, the Dutch parent company of the Yandex Group, agreed to sell all of its Russia-based assets, including Search, to a consortium consisting of:
Members of the senior management team of their Russian companies. PJSC Lukoil Oil Co. based in Russia Russian businessmen Alexander Chachava, Pavel Prass and Alexander Ryazanov.
The sale might have been double the amount, but for a “compulsory discount,” com TechCrunch reported:
“The reason for this downgrade is due to a rule imposed by the Russian government, which stipulates that any sale of Russian assets by parent companies incorporated in countries considered ‘unfriendly’ by Russia, will be subject to a ‘mandatory discount ‘ of at least 50 percent. And the Netherlands, as a member of an EU bloc that has imposed sanctions on Russia, falls into that “unfriendly” category.
Reason for sale. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 created quite a stir for Yandex (or “exceptional challenges(as Yandex’s press release says).This included Nasdaq suspending trading in Yandex shares, sales of various divisions, and financial losses.
The future of Yandex. Yandex’s management told its Russian employees that the company “will remain independent.” Reuters reported
Why we care Yandex Search (often called “Russia’s Google”) is used by more than 60% of Russians and is the dominant advertising platform. For search vendors who may operate in the marketplace (or may do so in the future), it will be worth seeing if this change in ownership leads to significant changes to Yandex Search.
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About the author
Danny Goodwin has been the editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo – SMX since 2022. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as a senior editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s Subject Matter Expert (SME) program. Also helps schedule US SMX events.
Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He was previously executive editor of Search Engine Journal (2017-2022), editor-in-chief of Momentology (2014-2016), and editor from Search. Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at numerous major search conferences and virtual events, and has brought his expertise to bear in a wide range of publications and podcasts.
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