Yandex shares rise after sells news to VK

VK

23/08/2022 10:57

** Moscow-listed shares in Yandex  YNDX.MM  rise as much as
4% to a nearly one-month high after the Russian internet firm
said it had agreed to sell its news aggregator and homepage to
rival VK  VKCOq.L   urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2ZZ167
    ** As part of the deal Yandex will acquire 100% of food
delivery service Delivery Club
    ** Renaissance Capital analyst Kirill Panarin said the deal
would significantly improve Yandex's monetisation potential,
leading to stronger unit economics
    ** "At the same time, Yandex would dispose of politically
sensitive news services, as was already announced a few months
ago. In terms of valuation, we believe the absence of cash
component in the transaction is fair," Panarin added
    ** For VK, deal is also beneficial as it would dispose
loss-making Delivery Club to profitable Zen and Y.News, he said
    ** "Not only would it fit the updated strategy of key focus
on social media assets but it would also be positive from a
liquidity perspective"
    ** Yandex's shares in Moscow rose 3% as of 0949 GMT, while
VK's depository receipts were up 1.6%
  

 (Reporting by Andrey Sychev)
 ((andrey.sychev2@thomsonreuters.com))