Yandex sells news, content recommendation services to Russia's VK

VK

28/04/2022 13:37

April 28 (Reuters) - Tech giant Yandex  YNDX.O  said on
Thursday it was selling its news aggregator platform Yandex News
and content recommendation service Yandex Zen to its Russian
rival VK  VKCOq.L .
    Yandex, one of Europe's largest internet businesses,
registered in the Netherlands, and Russian internet portal VK
said they had come to an agreement in principle on the deal, and
that they would announce details in due course.
    The deal is subject to approval by Russia's anti-monopoly
watchdog, Yandex said.
    Moscow-listed shares in Yandex  YNDX.MM  gained 1% following
the announcement, outperforming the broader market. Depository
receipts in VK  VKCODR.MM  slumped 2% on the Moscow Exchange, 
pressured by an increased first-quarter net loss that the
company reported on Thursday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASM0009EE
    Yandex, Russia's top search engine, reported a first-quarter
loss earlier this week and acknowledged problems started
appearing after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2WP4F4
    The company, whose Nasdaq-listed shares were suspended in
February, warned last month it did not have enough funds to
service some of its debt. Last week, it said it had withdrawn
its 2022 financial forecasts and was scaling back planned
investments.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2WJ0MG

 (Reporting by Reuters
Editing by Mark Potter)