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MOSCOW, March 7 Yandex expects that the first stage of the transaction for the sale of the main business will be completed in the coming weeks, follows from the company’s message.
«The closing of the transaction will take place in two stages. At the first stage, the closed mutual fund «Consortium.First» will buy from Yandex N.V. a controlling stake — up to 68% — in MKPAO «Yandex». The first stage is expected to be completed in the coming weeks — if everything the necessary conditions for this will be met,” Yandex said in a statement.
Earlier, Yandex reported that the Dutch Yandex N.V. concluded a deal to sell the main business for 475 billion rubles to a consortium of private investors represented by the closed mutual fund Consortium.First. At the first stage of the transaction, the closed mutual fund receives a 68% stake, paying for it in yuan equivalent to 230 billion rubles and shares of Yandex N.V. class A, on the second — the remaining package with payment also in money and shares of the Dutch company.
The participants of the closed mutual fund «Consortium.First» are: a specially created LLC «FMP», owned by the managers of «Yandex», with a share of 35%, «Infinity Management» (the structure of the founder of the venture fund LETA Capital, owner of My.Games Alexander Chachava) — 25%, the Argonaut fund (a structure of Lukoil) — 15%, IT. Development (the structure of the head of the Infinitum depository Pavel Prass) — 15% and Meridian Service (the structure of entrepreneur Alexander Ryazanov) — 10%.
Yandex announced restructuring in November 2022. It was reported that parent Yandex N.V. is considering the possibility of separating the main part of the business into a separate Russian group of companies, plans to eventually withdraw from its shareholders and change its name, while the new structure of Yandex in Russia will include a number of foreign directions and will retain the brand.
The company emphasized that neither Yandex N.V nor any group companies are under sanctions of the United States, European Union, Switzerland or Great Britain. Yandex group companies are not owned 50% or more by persons subject to such sanctions and are not under the control of such persons.