Yandex Drops $650 Million Office Purchase After Ruble Rebounds
- Russian search engine planned deal to cut dollar-linked costs
- Yandex to walk away from agreement after paying up to $700,000
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Yandex NV, Russia’s largest search engine, will walk away from a deal to buy its Moscow office for about $650 million after its share price rebounded and the ruble reversed a slide against the U.S. dollar.
Yandex will pay up to $700,000 to cancel the deal, which was meant to cut dollar-linked rental costs and protect its profit margin, according to a company statement Thursday. Chief Financial Officer Greg Abovsky told investors in July that any penalties wouldn’t be material.