Rambler, a major Russian Internet portal, is holding talks with Yandex, Russia’s leading search engine, and Google regarding replacing its search engine with a partner tool. Yandex management says the company is interested in big sites with high-density traffic. Rambler is most likely to opt for Google’s search system. According to information already available, Rambler and Google have already approved the partnership, though no official agreement has been signed yet.
Google representatives confirm that Rambler is conducting negotiations with Yandex and Google, though details have been disclosed and no comments have been made on the probable installation of a Google search engine.
Two years ago, Rambler attempted to integrate a Google search engine and to sell Begun contextual advertising services, but the Federal Anti-monopoly Service didn”t approve the deal, allegedly because of ownership structure issues. The negative attitude of Vladimir Putin towards the use of a foreign search engine on a Russian website was unofficially cited as the real reason for the ban, though this was denied by Putin’s representatives.
Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, recently said that approval of the new deal depends on clarification of some terms to the government, while back in 2008 the sale of the Russian asset (Begun) would have given a foreign company an advantage on the Russian online advertising market. Yandex shareholders assert that the company’s decision to change the search engine is grounded strictly in business motives.
A partnership with Google will be very advantageous for Rambler, as the development of its own search engine of would be too expensive. Since 2008, Rambler’s share in search services has decreased from 11% to 1.5%. The fact that the Begun business model is more compatible with Google operations and that an increase of the U.S. search engine’s share in search services would also be linked to growth in Begun’s revenues are also points in favor of Rambler”s cooperation with Google.
