MOSCOW, June 03. /ITAR-TASS/. Dutch company Yandex N.V., the sole owner of Russian Internet giant Yandex, has applied for a listing of its shares on the Moscow Exchange, two sources close to the company said late Monday.
“This week, Yandex’ shares will be accessible for the purchase and sale on the Moscow Exchange. The corresponding statement will be made (on June 3) on the Moscow Exchange,” a source said.
Another source said that the company, which owns Russia’s most popular Internet search engine and an internet portal, may start trading in several weeks.
At present, Yandex N.V. is traded on the NASDAQ and has a capitalization of $8.66 billion.
A source said that Yandex’s listing on the Moscow Exchange will be done as a Russian listing of shares of a foreign company.
“It won’t be a secondary share offering. In theory, the full volume of shares, which are now traded on the NASDAQ, will be available on the Moscow Exchange; the securities will be traded in rubles. The volume of shares traded on the Moscow Exchange will vary depending on investor demand,” a source said.
Sberbank CIB acted as the account administrator of the placement, and Morgan Stanley consulted the deal.
Yandex General Director and co-founder Arkady Volozh said that the listing will expand the range of investors and fuel interest to the company’s shares.
Yandex N.V. which owns Russia’s most popular internet search engine and an internet portal is owned by Volozh, investment company Baring Vostok Capital Partners, and others.