(Reuters) – One of the co-owners of Russian tech company Yandex, Pavel Prass, is set to increase his stake in Yandex rival VK through another company he has a minority stake in, a VK statement published on Friday showed.
A $5.4 billion cash and shares deal finalised in July 2024 brought foreign ownership in Yandex, often dubbed Russia’s Google, to a close, potentially tightening the Kremlin’s oversight of the internet in Russia.
A consortium of Russian investors made up of senior Yandex Russian management, a fund controlled by oil major Lukoil and three other companies owned by businessmen Alexander Chachava, Alexander Ryazanov and Prass, purchased Yandex’s Russian assets.
VK, which reported a net loss of more than $1 billion for 2024, is seeking to raise up to 115 billion roubles ($1.37 billion) through an additional share issue to existing shareholders to reduce its debt burden.
VK’s statement reveals that Prass is already a shareholder in VK and is evidence of consolidation in Russia’s tech sector.
On Friday, VK named the buyers in its private subscription of 354 million shares at 324.9 roubles per piece as AM-Invest and Agana. It did not specify how the stakes would be distributed.
One of Prass’ companies owns a 19% stake in Agana, Russian corporate filings showed.
The additional share issue, if approved by shareholders at an April 30 meeting, will see the buyers own 61% of VK’s increased capital.
($1 = 84.1000 roubles)
(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Alexander Marrow. Editing by Mark Potter)
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