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Yandex (NASDAQ:YNDX) has completed the final transaction in the divestment of its Russian businesses at a valuation of $5.4B, payable in a combination of cash and class A shares of the machine learning and AI technology group.
“Today’s announcement marks the end of a long and complicated chapter in the life of our company. All connections with Russia have now been severed,” the Dutch company’s chairman John Boynton said.
The second and final transaction of the definitive sales agreement involved the remaining 28% minority stake in Yandex’s businesses in Russia and certain other international markets. The transaction included $2.8B in cash proceeds and 162.5M class A shares.
With this second closing, Yandex (YNDX) has fully disposed its interest in the businesses to a consortium of Russian buyers. Earlier this month the company also completed its delisting from the Moscow Exchange, and its shares are now only listed on Nasdaq, where trading remains halted.
The Russian businesses brought in most of Yandex’s revenue. What is left of the group now will be renamed Nebius Group, pending shareholder approval. A management team and an expanded board of directors will be introduced. Founder Arkady Volozh will also return to lead the business, Bloomberg reported, citing two unnamed sources.
Nebius will include AI-focused businesses in cloud computing, education technology, data labelling and autonomous cars.