"Yandex" confirmed plans for the division of the company

Yandex is considering the option of dividing the business into parts, changing co-owners and management models in them. In one part, profitable assets with low growth rates may remain,

The Board of Directors of the Dutch Yandex NV (the parent company for the Yandex group) has begun to explore the possibility of changing the ownership and management structure of the company "in light of the current geopolitical situation," she said in a statement.

Rumors about a possible division of "Yandex" into the Russian and international parts have been discussed since the summer of this year, but so far the company's representatives have not commented on them. What parts of Yandex will go abroad and what will remain of the Russian business, RBC understood.

How Yandex will be divided

As noted in the message, a special committee under the board of directors of Yandex NV is considering various scenarios, including the creation of international divisions for several services, including unmanned and cloud technologies, a data labeling platform and educational services. Yandex NV will withdraw from the shareholders of all other Yandex businesses, including search, advertising, e-commerce, logistics, food delivery, entertainment services, taxis, carsharing, etc., both in RUSSIA and in international markets. “Separate elements of management” of the listed areas are planned to be transferred to management. They will retain the right to use the Yandex brand, and Yandex NV will subsequently be renamed.

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The message stipulates that the restructuring process is at an early stage and still needs to be approved by the company's shareholders.

The changes will help ensure the “sustainable development” of Yandex’s businesses in all markets, and the company itself will continue to develop “as a private, independent group of companies, operate in the open market and compete with local and global players.” “These are extremely difficult times. Rest assured, as we analyze various strategic options, we will do everything possible to protect our shareholders and preserve opportunities for the 20,000 employees who have made Yandex one of the most successful technology companies in Europe,” said John Boyton, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yandex NV .

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Who will own the companies

To the question of who, as a result of the transaction, will own the shares of Yandex NV, as well as the shares of that part of the business from which this company will leave the shareholders, the representative of Yandex did not answer, indicating that "this is still being discussed."

Currently, the share capital of Yandex NV is divided between the family trust of the founder of "Yandex" Arkady Volozh (8.5%) and other employees of the company (3.2%), the remaining 87.6% are in free circulation. At the same time, the main owners of voting shares are the Volozh family trust (45.1%) and members of the board of directors, officers and employees of the company (6.6%). Also, since 2019, there has been a Public Interest Fund, which received the so-called golden share of the company (allows you to block the consolidation of 10% or more economic or voting shares in one hand, coordinate the transfer of significant intellectual property, changes in the company's regulations for the protection of non-anonymous big data of Russian users, possible partnerships with other governments,

Kudrin will move to Yandex against the backdrop of the it business section Technology and media

Earlier, RBC sources reported that late on Thursday, November 24, the HEAD of the Accounts Chamber, Alexei Kudrin, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, agreed on a scheme for dividing Yandex, which assumed that Volozh would lose control over the Russian part of the business in exchange for obtaining rights to intellectual property in the field of unmanned, cloud and a number of other technologies. At the first stage, 2%, and after some time another 3% of the shares in the Russian part, according to the interlocutors, along with “a certain position” (which one has not yet been decided) should be received by Alexei Kudrin, as an intermediary in coordinating the restructuring. According to one source, a stake in this part of the business could also be bought out by Yandex's management, but another source pointed to the difficulty of finding funding for such an option.

According to another source, a block of assets under the Yango brand can be formed separately - Daniil Shuleiko, who now heads the Yandex business group in the field of e-commerce and logistics services (Yandex.Market, Yandex .Taxi", "Yandex.Food", "Yandex.Lavka", etc.).

At the same time, Alexei Kudrin, according to RBC interlocutors, planned to leave the Accounts Chamber within a week after meeting with Putin, but the transition could be delayed for two weeks or longer due to contradictions in the legislation regarding the appointment of the head of the chamber. Until the law on the Accounts Chamber is amended on the appointment of the head of the department by the Federation Council, there will be no personnel changes.

What are the prospects

Investment strategist of Arikapital Sergey Suverov points out that it is still not clear from the company's message how the division will be technically arranged, and the main essence of the scheme is the allocation of two assets that are aimed at different development options. “The main business will remain in the form of a taxi, search engine and delivery segment in Russia. This is a fairly profitable part of the asset with a steady financial flow, but due to the separation of the international part of cloud technologies, drones, etc. she will not have a “venture supplement”, Suverov argues. “The listed areas are designed for the long term and are not yet profitable: the separation of such businesses deprives Yandex of long-term growth, but significantly reduces financial costs.”

According to the results of the third quarter, Yandex NV's revenue was 133 billion rubles, of which 41% came from search, geoservices, Yandex 360, Weather, Alice and other services, 21% from taxis, carsharing and scooters, 16% — e-commerce, 7% — Yandex.Delivery, Yandex.Food, Delivery Club, etc., 5% — Plus subscription and entertainment services.

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According to Finam analyst Leonid Delitsyn, the Yandex section "is necessary so that its different parts can move forward in accordance with the goals and values ​​​​of the owners and without negative external pressure from those who can exert this pressure." He expects the company's financials to be "weakly affected" as the spinoffs were not "a significant source of revenue." “Foreign Yandex will turn into a set of Israeli startups that live a completely different life. If the founder brings in investors or uses his own resources, then these startups can enjoy freedom from thinking about financial performance for two or three years. But the Russian part of Yandex will have to think about financial performance, which now, like a “hut on chicken legs”, will resolutely turn its front to the forest of complex reality, in which revenue growth is still given at the cost of loss of marginality. But under the methodological guidance of one of the most experienced Russian financiers, the company will cope,” Delitzin summed up.

After the official announcement of the discussion of changes in the structure of the company, Yandex quotes rose by 1.63% to 2,153 rubles. But then the papers began to fall, which at the end of the day was 5%, to 2023 rubles.