Russia's biggest search engine Yandex is planning to file for a $1,5 billion IPO early 2011. The company will most likely choose London Stock Exchange for its listings, though New York's Nasdaq was also mentioned as an alternative.Yandex was planning to file for an IPO already in 2008 but world financial crisis got in the way and plans for an IPO were postponed. Sources close to the company shared that Yandex was valued at maximum $3M back then.  The company was founded in 1997 and is today 7th biggest search engine in the world by the number of processed queries. More than 61% of the company belongs to investment funds like ru-Net Holdings, Baring Vostok Capital Partners and Tiger Technologies, 24% is owned by the company's managers and other stuff, 10% belongs to private investors and 5% to holders of stock options.

This news comes after mere weeks since another IT-giant from Russia, Mail.ru, filed for a $1 billion IPO. Mail.ru's success attracted interests from more foreign investors than previously anticipated. In that light it is only logical that another internet giant from Russia files for an IPO. Mail.ru and Yandex are considered to be rivals by some, though Yandex is primarily a search engine while Mail.ru concentrates on email services, social networks and social gaming. Both of the companies are more than a decade-old and have by now fully established themselves as top players in their own fields in Russia and CIS.