Close Putin ally to join tech giant

Yandex is set to undergo a major restructuring, with Alexey Kudrin expected to take a leading position in the company

Russia’s top tech giant, Yandex, may soon carry out a corporate restructuring and split its domestic and international businesses, the company announced on Friday. It also revealed that Alexey Kudrin, Russia’s former finance minister and presidential adviser, will join the company’s top management team.

Its parent company in the Netherlands will soon withdraw from the shareholders and change its name, while control over the Russian part of the business will be transferred to local management.

Aleksey Kudrin, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the current head of the Audit Chamber, is expected to take a leading position in the company by the end of the year.

According to some media reports, Yandex N.V. announced on Friday that its board members had formed a “special committee” to explore the sale of Russian products and the spin-off of its other divisions.

“Yandex N.V. is considering the possibility of splitting the main part of the business, including a number of international business areas, into a separate group of companies that will retain the Yandex brand,” the company said in a statement.

READ MORE: Putin offers tax incentives for use of domestic technology

The company’s new cloud computing, self-driving cars and education projects would spin off into separate foreign ventures under the control of Yandex N.V., Russian media outlets reported. At the same time, Yandex emphasized in its statement that all of these projects would also continue to work in Russia.

The new structure will allow Yandex to “focus on creating innovative technological products and services, as well as to develop the company in the interests of its users, employees and shareholders.”

Yandex is known for its internet browser, which is more popular than Google in Russia. The company also has a major share of food delivery and taxi-hailing apps in the country.

Find more stories on economy and finance in TROIB business