Dutch company Yandex NV proposes 50% buyback after Russia split

(Reuters) - Yandex NV (YNV), the Dutch company now fully separate from Russian technology giant Yandex after a deal to split assets was finalised this week, on Thursday proposed a buyback for up to 50% of its dormant shares on Nasdaq.

YNV, which is renaming to Nebius Group, asked in an AGM notice for shareholders to approve a buyback of a maximum of 81,648,455 class A Shares at a purchase price no lower than the nominal value of the shares and no higher than $10.50 per share.

A Russian consortium of buyers on Monday finalised a $5.4 billion cash and shares deal to acquire Yandex's Russia-based assets, which had been held through Nasdaq-listed Dutch parent YNV, the largest corporate exit since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, albeit at a hefty discount.

YNV said in February that it wanted to return to shareholders a substantial proportion of proceeds from the sale of its Russia-based businesses. On Thursday it said it would determine the timing and terms of any potential offer in due course.

Trading in the company's shares on Nasdaq has been suspended for more than two years. Other Russian companies were delisted from the exchange, but YNV retained its listing, based on the provision that it was divesting from Russia.

With the split complete, YNV hopes trading in the Nasdaq-listed shares can resume in the coming months.

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by David Goodman)