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Weekly Lists
February 22, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 26
bne:TMT
Russia’s leading tech company Yandex reports a strong 4Q18
Russia’s internet search company and the most valuable tech com- pany in Europe, Yandex, reported another strong quarter for the last quarter of 2018. The firm’s earnings came in 3-4% above consen- sus for the top line and adjusted Ebitda.
“We continue to see the company as fundamentally very strong; however, the lingering uncertainties surrounding the shareholder structure still keep at least a part of the fundamental value locked, in our view,” Vladimir Bespalov of VTB Capital (VTBC) said in a note.
Yandex’s 4Q18 top line revenue increased 39% y/y to RUB38.8bn ($586mn), 4% above consensus. Among its business segments, the main drivers were Search and Portal, Taxi and Experiments.
A Swedish district court on February 15 acquitted Lars Nyberg, a former CEO of Nordic telecom operator Telia, of charges of bribery in connection with Telia’s entry into Uzbekistan.
Nyberg and two other defendants went on trial in September over allegations that $350mn was paid to Gulnara Karimova, the dis- graced daughter of Uzbekistan’s late ex-president Islam Karimov, in return for the “protection” of the Uzbek government and ac-
cess to Uzbekistan’s telecoms market. The trio of executives were charged after the Stockholm-based company agreed to pay $1bn in penalties to settle a long-running corruption probe into how bribes were paid to entities connected to Karimova to win licences to oper- ate 3G and 4G services.
Bulgarian businessman Kiril Domuschiev reportedly is in final talks with Swedish Modern Times Group (MTG) on the acquisition of Nova Broadcasting Group, which includes Nova TV, Capital.bg reported on February 20, quoting unnamed sources.
Domuschiev and another influential local businessman Spas Rusev were understood to be competing for MTG’s Bulgarian assets after the Swedish company announced that it has terminated a deal to sell Nova Broadcasting Group to Czech PPF Group.
According to Capital.bg, Domuschiev is ready to pay €185mn for Nova Broadcasting Group – exactly the same amount as offered by PPF Group.
Swedish court acquits former Telia CEO
of Uzbek bribery allegations
Bulgarian businessman reportedly close to buying MTG’s local assets