President Vladimir Putin has approved the sale of a controlling stake in Yandex, Russia’s largest internet company, to a consortium of three businessmen and VTB Bank, online news outlet The Bell reported on Monday, citing sources.
Former Russian Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin, who currently works as corporate development adviser to Yandex, reportedly met with Putin last week to discuss the future of the company. The move followed the exit of co-founder Arkady Volozh at the end of last year, after Yandex had announced plans in November to split its domestic and international businesses.
According to The Bell, Kudrin presented Putin with a list of four potential Yandex shareholders: billionaires Vladimir Potanin, Aleksey Mordashov and Vagit Alekperov, and VTB Bank. They plan to form a consortium who will buy a controlling stake in the company’s Russian business after the restructuring and division of assets with Volozh. Putin has agreed to Kudrin’s proposal, according to two…
