Russian govt commission approves investor consortium's buyout of Russian Yandex - source

MOSCOW. March 6 (Interfax) - The Russian government subcommittee of the foreign investments commission has approved the deal for a consortium of private investors to buy out the Russian business of Yandex from Yandex N.V ., a source in government circles told Interfax.

The Vedomosti publication has also reported the government commission's approval of the transaction, citing sources familiar with the discussions, with one source telling the publication that the approved deal would total 457.3 billion rubles, which is 17.7 billion rubles below the amount reported when the deal was announced in early February.

Yandex N.V. on February 5 announced agreements to sell the Russian business for 475 billion rubles to a consortium of private investors.