“Ten years ago we came up with “the golden share”, a binding mechanism created by the state to prevent a single investor from purchasing a large stock of shares,” wrote Arkady Volozh, CEO of Yandex, in his corporate letter. “Back then, it was to guarantee that no major international player or national business group bought the company. Yandex has substantially grown over the last decade and that was why we needed an updated “golden share.”
The new Public Interests Foundation is this updated “golden share 2.0”. According to the company’s top-managers, this step will enable Yandex international investors to remain confident in the company’s prospects while also securing the national interests.
The Foundation’s executive board will consist of eleven members: representatives of Higher School of Economics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University and ITMO University, three independent directors from the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management and the Support Fund of the 57th school, as well as Arkady Volozh, CEO of Yandex, Tigran Khudaverdyan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Yandex, and Elena Bunina, CEO of Yandex in Russia.
The Foundation will have the right to promote two of its representatives to the Yandex’s executive board. Members of the Foundation will also participate in negotiations on consolidation of 10% or more of voting or economic shares in the hands of one investor, substantial intellectual property transfer, any changes to the company’s policy on storing unconfidentialized Russian user data, and possible cooperation with the governments of other countries. Members of the Foundation will have no way of influencing other operational, strategic or economic decisions of the company.
In order for these changes to enter into force, 75% of all voting shares have to approve it on December 20.
The name of the ITMO representative will be announced next week. According to Vladimir Vasiliev, the rector of ITMO University, the candidates will be discussed at the next academic board meeting.
