Report: Yandex Eyeing $2 Billion Nasdaq IPO

Russian property Yandex has both Yahoo and Microsoft beat in the European search market, and trounces Google, too, in its homeland.  Now, a report has indicated that Yandex (or at least its name) may travel to New York to raise $2 billion in an IPO.

"[A] source close to the offering" told Reuters that the IPO would take place this fall, and "expectations are based on a preliminary valuation of Yandex at $5 billion."  If you’re looking for some reference points, Yahoo’s current market cap is about $38 billion, and Baidu’s is nearer to $12 billion.

 Yandex

"Russian media earlier reported Yandex had mandated Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Renaissance Capital to organise an IPO on [the] Nasdaq," according to the Reuters article.  This American, German, and Russian group sounds pretty impressive.

Other details of the IPO remain unknown, and what Yandex plans to do with the money (expand to new markets, acquire Russian companies, build a Yandexplex) is just as big a mystery.

This should be an interesting story to watch, though.  And for Yandex’s sake and ours, here’s hoping the American economy’s in better shape by the time its IPO takes place.