Yandex and Sberbank Enter into Binding Agreement for Yandex.Market Joint Venture
December 13 2017 - 03:00AM
Yandex (NASDAQ:YNDX) today announced that it has entered into a
binding agreement with Sberbank of Russia to form a joint venture
based on the Yandex.Market platform. The parties previously
announced their intention to pursue the transaction on August 9,
2017.
Pursuant to the definitive agreement, Sberbank will subscribe
for new shares in Yandex.Market for 30 billion rubles
(approximately $500 million), valuing it at 60 billion rubles
(approximately $1 billion) on a post-money basis, before taking
into account any potential future synergies. The two partners will
own equal stakes in the company, with ten percent of the company’s
shares to be issued to an equity incentive foundation and allocated
for future grants of equity awards to management and employees of
Yandex.Market.
Yandex.Market will engage in e-commerce, with a core focus on
creating a B2C online retail marketplace. In the Russian
Federation, other CIS states, the Baltic states and Georgia, Yandex
and Sberbank will engage in the core business solely through
Yandex.Market.
Yandex.Market will continue to operate under the current
management team led by Maxim Grishakov, its Chief Executive
Officer. He will join the board of directors of Yandex.Market,
which will also include three other representatives from Yandex and
three representatives from Sberbank.
Yandex will continue to provide technology and branding, while
both Yandex and Sberbank will provide promotion support to the
joint venture. Both parties will utilize strength of their
respective core businesses to boost growth of Yandex.Market going
forward.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and
regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first half of
2018.
About Yandex.MarketYandex.Market is one of the
largest players in the Russian eCommerce market, with over 100
billion rubles GMV in the first nine months of 2017. Yandex.Market
serves a monthly audience of over 20 million users, giving them
access to over 20,000 domestic and international merchants and 150
million product offerings.
About YandexYandex (NASDAQ:YNDX) is a
technology company that builds intelligent products and services
powered by machine learning. Our goal is to help consumers and
businesses better navigate the online and offline world. Since
1997, we have delivered world-class, locally relevant search and
information services. Additionally, we have developed leading
on-demand transportation services, navigation products, and other
mobile applications for millions of consumers across the globe.
Yandex, which has 17 offices worldwide, has been listed on the
NASDAQ since 2011.
About SberbankSberbank is Russia’s largest bank
and a leading global financial institution. Sberbank holds almost
one third of aggregate Russian banking sector assets, it is the key
lender to the national economy and the biggest deposit taker in
Russia. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is the founder
and principal shareholder of Sberbank owning 50% of the Bank's
authorized capital plus one voting share, with the remaining 50%
held by domestic and international investors. Sberbank has more
than 145 million customers in 22 countries. Sberbank has the
largest distribution network in Russia with almost 15,000 branches,
and its international operations include UK, US, CIS, Central and
Eastern Europe, India, China, Turkey and other countries.
The Bank holds the general banking license No.1481 issued by the
Bank of Russia. Official websites of the Bank: www.sberbank.com
(Sberbank Group website), www.sberbank.ru.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. These include statements regarding
the closing of the proposed joint venture and the potential
financial and operational development of the Yandex.Market
business. Actual results may differ materially from the results
predicted or implied by such statements, and our reported results
should not be considered as an indication of future performance.
The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ from the results predicted or implied by such
statements include, among others, the risk of failure to obtain
required regulatory approvals and close the proposed transaction;
macroeconomic and geopolitical developments affecting the Russian
economy; competitive pressures, changes in user preferences,
changes in the political, legal and/or regulatory environment,
technological developments, as well as those risks and
uncertainties included under the captions "Risk Factors" and
"Operating and Financial Review and Prospects" in our Annual Report
on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2016, which is on file
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is
available on our investor relations website at
http://ir.yandex.com/sec.cfm and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
All information in this release is as of December 13, 2017, and
Yandex undertakes no duty to update this information unless
required by law.
For press inquiries, please contact:Yandex press officeEkaterina
Lebedeva, Asya Melkumova+7 495 739-70-00pr@yandex-team.ru
Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024