Yandex N.V. shareholders approve sale of Russian business to group of investors

MOSCOW. March 11 (Interfax) - The shareholders of Netherlands-based Yandex N. V. (YNV) voted at meetings on March 7 to approve the technology group's restructuring, the company said.

The first meeting was for holders of Class A shares, and the second was an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders with Class A and B shares.

The restructuring includes the sale of the group's Russian business to a consortium of private investors for 475 billion rubles. In addition to shareholder approval, the deal requires the approval of regulators, permission from the Russian president and a number of other documents. The president has already approved a change of ownership at JSC Yandex Bank.

The deal is split into two stages. The first, involving the sale of a controlling 68% stake, includes a cash portion of at least 230 billion rubles and the transfer of 67.8 million Class A shares. It is expected to be closed in the first half of 2024. The second stage will be completed seven weeks after the first.

Shareholders also approved changes to YNV's articles of association in connection with the restructuring, and confirmed annual financial statements for 2021-2022.

Yandex's largest shareholder at the moment is a family trust established by company cofounder Arkady Volozh, which holds 8.5% of Yandex equity and 45.1% of votes. In June 2022, the fund stopped making decisions on how to vote its shares, the vote is now counted based on the recommendations of the board. The company's free float is 87.9% (46.5% of votes).