A Russian consortium announced terms on Monday to buy the Russian assets of technology group Yandex from Dutch parent company Yandex NV in a cash and share deal.
The consortium said it expects to receive no more than 107,729,866 shares of Yandex N.V via a purchase and swap. The buyback will take place at a price of 1,251.8 roubles per Yandex NV share. The swap will be done at a 1:1 ratio.
Yandex NV announced the agreement to divest its Russia-based businesses in April for a total consideration of 475 billion roubles ($5.2 billion), payable in a combination of cash and shares.
This price is roughly half of its market capitalization as per the average share price in the three months ending January 31, 2024. The reason for this markdown is due to a rule imposed by the Russian Government, which stipulates that any sale of Russian assets by parent companies incorporated in countries deemed “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.
Sources: Reuters
