Search engine Yandex owner to exit Russia in $5.2 bn deal: Report

Yandex NV has struck a 475-billion-rouble ($5.21 billion) deal to sell what has been dubbed “Russia’s Google” to a group of Russian investors, marking the biggest corporate exit from the country since Moscow invaded Ukraine almost two years ago.

The Kremlin-engineered deal would see Russia’s largest technology player fall entirely under Russian ownership, including a fund ultimately owned by oil major Lukoil, and cement Yandex’s departure from Western tech circles.

Once seen as one of the few Russian companies with the potential to become a global business, Nasdaq-listed Yandex had developed leading online services, including search, advertising and ride-hailing in Russia.