![]() Yandex has already repurchazed $500-600 million of its shares from the market, CEO Volozh said.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. The company did not specify the extent of the bond repurchase plans but it also said it could extend its share buyback program to 18 million shares from 15 million, after which it could start paying dividends for the first time. The 1.125 percent bonds are convertible into company stock or cash, or a combination of both, at maturity. Yandex also announced on Tuesday that its board had authorized the gradual repurchase of convertible bonds due to mature in 2018. Yandex had indicated in February that its board would support an additional listing in Moscow, while London-listed Russian rival Mail.Ru announced that it intended to seek a Moscow listing in the near future. It reported net profit of about $400 million last year on revenue of $1.2 billion. Yandex raised $1.4 billion in an oversubscribed initial public offering in New York three years ago. investors with large exposure to such companies. "A Russian listing diversifies Yandex's risks in the event of further sanctions for Russian companies trading in the United States, which was a concern for investors, and shows loyalty to the government."Īnastasia Obukhova, an analyst at VTB Capital, said the listing should help to overcome "politicised sentiment" over Russian internet businesses, providing some relief for U.S. His opponents say the Kremlin wants to silence dissent on the Internet, a rare platform for opposition in a country where state television channels dominate the airwaves.Īlexander Vengranovich, an analyst at the Otkritie brokerage, said the Moscow listing was positive for Yandex because it could ease political risks and potentially lead to inclusion in the MSCI Russia index, a benchmark for emerging market investors worldwide. Less than two weeks later Yandex nominated the CEO of state-run Sberbank, former economy minister German Gref, as a new non-executive board member, citing the need to lobby more effectively in a climate of tighter regulation of internet companies in Russia. The company is registered in the Netherlands and has a large foreign shareholder base by virtue of its Nasdaq listing. Yandex certainly holds a dominant position in Russia, where its 60 percent market share far exceeds the 27 percent held by global market leader Google.īut the company's tumbled 5 percent on April 24 after Putin said the Internet was a CIA project and suggested that there had been too much outside influence on Yandex. "It's here that almost all our servers are, it's here that we pay taxes and now we are also trading here," Volozh told reporters on Tuesday. ![]() The campaign has gathered momentum since the West imposed sanctions against some Russian individuals and companies over Moscow's annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea. No new shares will be offered, but Volozh pointed out that the company's stock will now be tradeable almost 24 hours a day.Īs part of Moscow's stock market initiative, the government is also pushing for companies with offshore entities to re-register at home and pay tax in Russia. Yandex will remain listed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq in the United States, but its Moscow debut will open the door to Russian investors and funds that are only allowed to invest within Russia, CEO Arkady Volozh said. Russian President Vladimir Putin has led a drive to promote the Moscow Exchange and woo Russian companies that have chosen to float on foreign stock markets such as London and New York to widen their shareholder base and boost valuations.
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