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Russia’s most popular Internet search engine has gone public, jumping 38 percent on the Nasdaq Stock Market after raising $1.3 billion in an initial public offering. It is indeed the biggest tech IPO for 2011. The company was valued at $8 billion.
Trading under the symbol YNDX, the shares rose $9.50 to $34.50 at 10:53 am ET Tuesday.
Yandex, which has three times the market share of Google in Russia at 64 percent, attracts more than 56 million Web users from around the world. One of Yandex's largest advantages for Russian-language users is recognition of Russian inflection in search queries. Searches can also be conducted in English. The company was launched in 1997 and co-founded by Arkady Volozh, its current Chief Executive Officer.
“Russia deserves to have a technology company of a global level," Volozh told Reuters recently. "We're working toward that happening."
"Yandex has picked a great time for an IPO for a tech company," said Anthony Moro, managing director and head of emerging markets at Bank of New York Mellon Corp., which has about $1.1 trillion in assets under management. "For the longer term, they're in the right spot. They're the Google of Russia."
The search firm makes most of its revenue from advertising. Online advertising in Russia climbed 51 percent from 2008 to 2010, reaching 26.65 billion rubles.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he is making “modernization” of the media a top priority in the country.
Last week, shares of LinkedIn Corp., a social networking website, more than doubled on its first day of trading after the IPO raised $405.7 million.
Here are your spread betting options for the Dow Jones close by month's end. These prices were available May 24, 2011
• Dow Jones to close ON or ABOVE 11750 on 31 May 2011 - 95 percent chance
• Dow Jones to close ON or ABOVE 12250 on 31 May 2011 - 83 percent chance
• Dow Jones to close ON or ABOVE 12500 on 31 May 2011 - 34 percent chance
*All odds found at intrade.com
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
