(New York) Russian tech giant Yandex said on Thursday that it could default on its debt due to the prolonged suspension of its listing on NASDAQ, the New York electronic stock exchange.
Posted yesterday at 7:03 p.m.
The NASDAQ and the other New York stock exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, on Monday suspended the listing of all Russian companies whose shares or part of them are registered in the United States.
For the listing to resume, the groups had to communicate on the consequences for them of the sanctions which are currently affecting many entities and individuals in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
In a press release published Thursday, Yandex explains that it is not directly targeted by the sanctions and can continue its activities immediately.
Nevertheless, the “Russian Google”, as it is often nicknamed, warns that a provision provides that if its listing on NASDAQ is suspended for more than five sessions, some of its creditors may request the immediate repayment of its debt, together with interest. .
The provision relates to bonds whose original maturity was fixed at 2025, for an amount of 1.25 billion dollars.
“Yandex Group does not currently have sufficient resources to ensure the repayment of these bonds” for the full amount, the company said in the statement, which would imply that all creditors ask to recover their stake.
“Even if we were able to meet all reimbursement requests”, this disbursement “could affect our ability to meet our other financial obligations” if Yandex were unable to raise new financing.
The group said it was studying how to deal with such a scenario and “what other sources of funding would be available”.
Asked by AFP, the NASDAQ indicated that the quotation of Yandex “remains[ait] suspended,” without further comment.
Yandex achieved in 2021 a turnover of 356 billion rubles, or about 4.77 billion dollars at the end of December.
The company controls Russia’s first search engine, launched in 1997. Yandex still accounted for 60% of internet searches in Russia in the last quarter of 2021, according to the company.
The group has diversified in recent years and notably offers a shopping delivery service.