Yandex and Ozon have announced a possible default on eurobonds as a result of stock trading halt on the US stock exchange NASDAQ. The companies clarified that, according to the rules of the exchange, they are required to disclose all theoretically possible risks, even if they never occur.

Yandex placed five-year convertible bonds in 2020. Bond payments in shares or cash. If the exchange does not trade Yandex shares for five days, then bondholders can ask to return their money “not in 2025, as planned, but earlier”. Currently, the amount that can be requested for repayment from Yandex is $1.25 billion. Yandex notes that this amount is more than is available in the company’s accounts.

Ozon has a $750 million convertible note. Bondholders can request redemption after seven business days of no trading of the company’s shares on the stock exchange. At the end of February, Ozon had $1.35 billion (113 billion rubles) in its accounts, of which 80% were in foreign currency. Moreover, a large part of them is located in Russia. Considering the fact that the payments will be made by the Cypriot holding company of the group, there is a risk that it will not be possible to transfer funds from Russia abroad, both for technical reasons and due to regulatory prohibitions.

Ozon noted that in the event of early repayment of the debt and accrued interest, the company’s funds that could be used for operating activities will be reduced.

Original (in Russian)