September 14 proved to be a great day for Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX) as it stock jumped nearly 13% after the watchdog stated that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) violated Antitrust Laws. The U.S. internet giant breached Russian antitrust laws by asking manufacturers to pre-install company’s services on their devices. The verdict came as a blow to Google’s bid to overtake Yandex.
The matter
Earlier in the year, the Russian company registered a complaint with the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service requesting that Google should unbundle its services from Google Play and the Android operating system. Yandex stated Android’s default options prompt mobile users to opt for Google services including maps and search, restricting users’ ability to choose other services like from Yandex NV or other firms.
The competition
Google has been gaining market share from Yandex recently as the U.S. internet giant has strong hold on devices running on Android platform. Yandex’s market share of Russian searches dropped to 50% in August compared with 54% in January 2014, while Google’s market share surged to nearly 42% from 34%.
The expert speaks
Vladimir Kudryavtsev of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said that Google’s requirement for manufacturers to pre-install its designed services like search is a violation. The watchdog will provide detailed instructions on solutions to Google within ten days. The internet giant will evaluate the regulator’s decision once it gets detailed instructions.
Konstantin Belov of Uralsib Capital said that this decision come as a good news for Yandex as the company has been on the back foot due to Android popularity. Many customers have been utilizing Google offerings by default, and with the latest decision Yandex may have a real chance to get the market share back.
Following the news, Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX) recorded its steepest intraday gains since April 15 and closed around $12.05. However, the gains came at a share volume of 16,122 compared to average monthly share volume of 3.86 million.
