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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The Dutch parent of pioneering Russian tech company Yandex is selling its operations in the country at a steeply discounted price of just over $5 billion to its Russia-based managers and oil company Lukoil, one of the biggest deals for Western-held companies to exit Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. He subsequently condemned Russia's invasion as “barbaric.” The Nasdaq exchange suspended trading in Yandex shares days after the invasion. After the sale, Yandex NV would be left with its international businesses — employing 1,300 people — including self-driving technology and generative artificial intelligence as well as a data center in Finland. Yandex NV Chairman John Boynton said the company had faced “exceptional challenges” since the start of the war. None of the purchasers have been sanctioned, Yandex NV said, and the cash part of the transaction would be conducted in Chinese yuan outside of Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Arkady Volozh, Dmitry Peskov, ”, —, Alexander Chachava, Pavel Prass, Alexander Ryazanov, John Boynton, Boynton, McDonald’s, France’s Renault, Baltika Organizations: Western, Nasdaq, Yandex, Google, Yahoo, European Union, Companies, Baltika Breweries, Danone Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Netherlands, Israel, Finland, Avtovaz, Western

☆ Apple has paid a $13 million fine that will go directly into Russia's state budget as Putin ramps up war spending, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Apple has paid a $13 million Russian fine over alleged illegal app store practices, per the FT. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementApple has reportedly paid a $13 million Russian fine as President Vladimir Putin escalates his crackdown on foreign tech firms. Like many other Western companies, Apple has largely abandoned Russia since Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though it still operates its app store in the country. However, the war has left the Russian economy struggling with spiraling food prices and a shortage of workers .

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Russia's Organizations: Apple, Google, Service, FAS, Financial Times, Big Tech, Business Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian

☆ Putin's war with Ukraine has basically killed off one of Russia's most successful tech companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin's war in Ukraine may have killed off one of Russia's most promising tech companies. AdvertisementPutin's war in Ukraine has taken quite a toll on the country's most successful tech company. The Dutch-domiciled company owns Russia's most popular search engine, which is often referred to as "Russia's Google." AdvertisementIt was also one of the most promising Russian tech companies in terms of global expansion. The tech company has, however, come under increasing government scrutiny in recent years after Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Persons: —, Arkady Volozh, Volozh, Yandex Organizations: Yandex, Service, Bloomberg, Google, Reuters, VK Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Israel, Russia

The logo of Russian technology giant Yandex is on display at the company's headquarters in Moscow, Russia December 9, 2022. 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. 'CONTROL FOR LESS'Yandex NV may sell 100% of a holding company set up in Russia's Kaliningrad region, said one of the people. A third source said this scenario would see Yandex NV make a clean break with Russia. Yandex NV shareholders could easily have been left with nothing, said one of the sources.

Persons: Evgenia, Yandex, Yandex's, Arkady Volozh, Russia's, nationalising Yandex, Darya Korsunskaya, Alexander Marrow, David Goodman, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Kremlin, VK, Reuters, Carlsberg, Danone, Yandex, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Yandex, Dubai, Russia's Kaliningrad, nationalising

☆ Yandex takes step towards Russian approval for restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Russian technology giant Yandex is on display at the company's headquarters in Moscow, Russia December 9, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Nasdaq-listed Russian tech company Yandex (YNDX.O) said on Friday it had obtained one of the approvals needed from the Russian government for its planned restructuring, which it hopes to complete by the end of 2023. Yandex, while reporting a 33% drop in third-quarter adjusted net income, said its board remained committed to completing the restructuring and divesting all Russia-based businesses. It said class A shareholders had now given consent for the merger of certain intermediate Dutch holding companies into Yandex NV. Yandex said it planned to take a restructuring proposal to shareholders for approval by the end of 2023.

Persons: Evgenia, Yandex, Alexander Marrow, Jason Neely, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Nasdaq, Yandex, Moscow, Reuters, Yandex NV, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, nationalising, Washington

☆ Ride-hailing app Yango to set up global office in Dubai
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Yango, the ride-hailing app owned by Russian tech group Yandex NV <YNDX.O), is establishing a global operational office in Dubai, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Yango said the office will be open in the fourth quarter of this year and will be based in Dubai Internet City, part of Dubai business park operator TECOM Group. "The strategic move to establish Yango’s global operational office represents a significant milestone to oversee operations of its myriad services," the company said in a statement. These include Yango ride-hailing and last-mile delivery solution provider Yango Delivery, the company added. Reporting by Hadeel Al SayeghOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yango, Hadeel Al Organizations: Russian, TECOM, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Dubai, City

☆ Yandex's Yango in talks with Dutch watchdog over data protection
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Yandex NV FollowAMSTERDAM, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Yango, the ride-hailing app owned by Russian tech group Yandex NV (YNDX.O), said on Thursday it is in talks with the Dutch Data Protection Agency to demonstrate that it adheres to European rules on data transfer and storage. The Dutch Data Protection Agency on Thursday confirmed it is also investigating Yango. Yango said the Finnish and Norwegian probes showed "Yango's personal data processing does not pose any imminent threat to the fundamental rights and freedoms" of European users. "As we have always stated, data of Yango users cannot be obtained from the service by Russian authorities outside of the established international procedures, for example, involving Interpol." Yandex is in the process of trying to separate its core Russian businesses from the international operations registered in the Netherlands.

Persons: John Sibley, Yango, Toby Sterling, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Russian, Dutch Data Protection Agency, Nasdaq, Interpol, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, AMSTERDAM, Russia, Netherlands

☆ Kremlin Calls Businessmen Who Criticise Russia to Get Sanctions Relief 'Traitors'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Thursday said that Russian businessmen who voiced anti-Russian views in an effort to get personal Western sanctions on them lifted were traitors ready to sell out their country. The European Union has just removed three Russian business leaders from its sanctions list - which it introduced to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine - the EU's Official Journal showed on Thursday. Personal sanctions for many others were extended however. Different Russian businessmen had adopted different methods when it came to trying to get themselves removed from the sanctions list, he said. "There are businessmen who slip into anti-Russian positions and who try get sanctions taken off for 12 pieces of silver - they are traitors," said Peskov.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Arkady Volozh, Volozh, Putin, Yandex, Alexander Marrow, Andrew Osborn Organizations: European Union, Yandex NV, Reuters Locations: MOSCOW, Moscow, Ukraine, Europe, Russia

☆ Arkady Volozh: Co-founder of Yandex, Russia's Google equivalent, slams 'barbaric' invasion of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The co-founder of Russian internet giant Yandex, Arkady Volozh, on Thursday condemned what he described as Moscow’s “barbaric” invasion of Ukraine, days after criticism in Russia over his apparent efforts to distance himself from the country. He has also been criticized by those opposed to Russia’s actions for not speaking out more forcefully against the war. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it,” Volozh said in a statement. Volozh developed Yandex (YNDX) in Russia, creating the country’s largest tech company and its leading search engine. Volozh called the EU’s decision “misguided.”Yandex is pursuing a corporate restructuring that should ultimately see its main revenue-generating businesses inside Russia spun off from its Dutch-registered parent company, Yandex NV.

Persons: Arkady Volozh, Volozh, ”, ” Volozh, “, —, Yandex Organizations: European Union, Yandex NV, Nasdaq Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine —, Israel, Moscow

Arkady Volozh, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yandex Group of Companies, attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia June 7, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File PhotoAug 10 (Reuters) - The co-founder of Russian internet giant Yandex (YNDX.O), Arkady Volozh, on Thursday condemned what he described as Russia's "barbaric" invasion of Ukraine, days after criticism in Russia over his apparent efforts to distance himself from the country. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it," Volozh said in a statement. Volozh developed Yandex in Russia, creating the country's largest tech company and ultimately taking it public on the U.S. Nasdaq stock exchange in 2011. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Yandex has sought to balance domestic pressure on one side with its Western investors on the other.

Persons: Arkady Volozh, Maxim, Volozh, –, Yandex, Alexander Marrow, Jason Neely Organizations: Yandex, of Companies, St ., Economic, REUTERS, U.S, Nasdaq, European Union, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Ukraine –, Israel, Yandex

[1/2] The logo of Russian technology giant Yandex is on display at the company's headquarters in Moscow, Russia December 9, 2022. Maksut Shadaev, the head of Russia's ministry of digital affairs, told parliament in December that around 100,000 IT specialists had left Russia in 2022. It is not yet clear whether Volozh's comments may have any bearing on how Russia decides to proceed with the company. One of the sources said "hawks" in state companies believed nothing at all should be paid to foreigners. Two sources said VTB had never been a serious option as a buyer, given sanctions on the state lender.

Persons: Yandex, Maksut Shadaev, Ramzan Kadyrov, Arkady Volozh, Andrei Kostin, VTB, Alexei Kudrin, Alexander Marrow, Polina Devitt, Mike Collett, White, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, nationalising Nasdaq, Reuters, Yandex NV, Yandex, U.S, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, nationalising, Ukraine, Serbia, Yandex

☆ Chief of Russia’s Yandex faces court case for ‘LGBT propaganda'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Lucy Papachristou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of Russian technology giant Yandex is on display at the company's headquarters in Moscow, Russia December 9, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File PhotoJuly 5 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Nasdaq-listed internet company Yandex faces prosecution in a Russian court for alleged offences under the country’s so-called “LGBT propaganda” law, a notice on the court's website said on Wednesday. When contacted by Reuters, Yandex said it would appeal any court finding against its CEO. The court website gave no specific details of what alleged offences Savinovsky was being prosecuted for beyond that they relate to "LGBT propaganda". Last month a court fined the company 2 million roubles ($24,242) for repeatedly refusing to provide Russia’s security services with information about its users.

Persons: Evgenia, Artem Savinovsky, Yandex, Savinovsky, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Yandex's, Bridget Jones ’, ” Kinopoisk, Russia’s, Elena Bunina, Lucy Papachristou, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Nasdaq, Yandex, Reuters, State Duma, Novaya Gazeta, Kommersant, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, British, Ukraine

☆ Yandex makes changes to financial team ahead of corporate restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 30 (Reuters) - Internet company Yandex (YNDX.O) on Friday said it was making changes to its financial team in preparation for a potential corporate restructuring that should see it divest ownership and control of core, Russia-based businesses. Sources told Reuters last month that shareholders in Yandex's holding company, many of whom are Western investment funds, could be in line to make $7 billion from a full divestment of its Russian businesses. Svetlana Demyashkevich, CFO of Yandex's Dutch-registered holding company, Yandex NV will transition to the role of Senior Vice President of Finance, Yandex said. "In this capacity (Demyashkevich) will advise the board on financial matters and report directly to the Chairman John Boynton," Yandex said in a statement. Yandex NV hopes to sell the main revenue-generating businesses inside Russia and develop four newer units, self-driving technologies, cloud computing, data labelling and educational technology independently, internationally.

Persons: Svetlana Demyashkevich, Yandex, John Boynton, Alexander Balakhnin, Alexander Marrow, Louise Heavens Organizations: Reuters, Yandex's, Yandex, Finance, Thomson Locations: Russia, Yandex's

☆ Exclusive: Russia's VTB may pull out of running for Yandex stake - CEO Kostin
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovMOSCOW, June 9 (Reuters) - Russian state-owned lender VTB (VTBR.MM) may pull out of the running to acquire a stake in internet giant Yandex (YNDX.O), the bank's CEO, Andrei Kostin, told Reuters, as discussions are now centered around higher prices than the bank's initial offer. Kostin said he was not sure VTB would continue with its bid. "I am not sure that we will go into Yandex," Kostin told Reuters when asked about plans. "It was announced at $7 billion recently, we submitted our application at a different price level, lower," Kostin said. VTB was hit hard with Western sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine, something that limits its ability to front a consortium bid, Kostin said.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Andrei Kostin, Kostin, –, Arkady Volozh, VTB, Vladimir Potanin, Vagit Alekperov, Guy Faulconbridge, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow Organizations: Moscow International Business Center, REUTERS, VTB, Reuters, Kostin, Yandex NV, Thomson Locations: Moscow, City, Russia, Maxim Shemetov MOSCOW, Yandex, Ukraine, Yandex's

Two government officials told Reuters the government was concerned about the deal because Nebius's activities were funded by Yandex. A third, separate source said Nebius is part of Yandex's Dutch holding company, Yandex NV, and would be part of the new international company post-restructuring. "They were basically told that as long as they're connected to a Russian company, it's not going to work," one of the sources told Reuters. "Our Dutch holding company is in the process of divesting its Russian business – unfortunately this isn't a fast process," Shtan said. Energy issued a statement last month saying neither the company nor its chief executive, Michael Bobrov, has any connection with Russia.

☆ Fanatics Hires CFO for Collectibles Business After Topps Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Nina Trentmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Fanatics said this week that Greg Abovsky started as chief financial officer for the collectibles business earlier this month. As CFO, Mr. Abovsky plans to build out the division’s finance team and its trading card business as it looks to expand. Fanatics plans to expand its portfolio into culture and entertainment cards, said Mike Mahan, chief executive officer of the collectibles business. Fanatics expects its collectibles business will fare well in the coming years, despite the threat of a potential downturn. Both Mr. Abovsky and Mr. Mahan declined to comment on if and when Fanatics could list on the public markets.

☆ Russia's Yandex seeks Putin's approval for restructuring - FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Hadeel Al Sayegh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 24 (Reuters) - Russian internet giant Yandex NV (YNDX.O) is seeking President Vladimir Putin's approval to sell its operations in the country and spin off its main international projects, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing sources. The company has informally enlisted former finance minister Alexei Kudrin to win Putin's approval, in principle, for the restructuring plan, according to the report. Often referred to as Russia's Google, Yandex like many Russian companies has had turbulent few months after grappling with Moscow's increasing isolation in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. In August, VK, a state-controlled company with close links to Putin, agreed to buy Yandex's news feed and homepage. In exchange, Yandex acquired food delivery company Delivery Club from VK to focus on other business areas, such as food delivery and ride-hailing.

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