LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Nasdaq-listed technology company Yandex NV said it had struck a 475-billion-rouble ($5.21 billion) cash and share deal to sell all its assets in Russia to a consortium of Russian investors, including a fund ultimately owned by oil major Lukoil (LKOH.MM)

The deal would see the country’s largest technology player, often referred to as “Russia’s Google”, fall entirely under Russian ownership and cement Yandex’s departure from the Western tech circles it once courted.

Yandex developed leading online services, including search, advertising and ride-hailing, and was seen as one of the few Russian companies with the potential to become a global business until Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The Kremlin has been engaged in negotiations with Yandex for around 18 months to try and spin off Yandex’s Russian businesses from Yandex NV, its Dutch parent company.

The deal is complicated for several reasons, primarily because Yandex, a strategically-important asset for Russia was owned largely by Western investors. Yandex NV would secure one of the largest corporate exits from Russia since the war began, but Yandex businesses accounting for more than 95% of revenues would remain in Russia and fall under Russian control. The sale price reflects “a mandatory discount of at least 50% to ‘fair value’”, Yandex NV said. Russia’s government must approve deals involving foreign asset sales and demands a discount of at least 50%.