April 11 (Reuters) - One of the co-owners of Russian

tech company Yandex, Pavel Prass, is set to increase

his stake in Yandex rival VK through another company

he has a minority stake in, a VK statement published on Friday

showed.

A $5.4 billion cash and shares deal finalised in July 2024

brought foreign ownership in Yandex, often dubbed Russia's

Google, to a close, potentially tightening the Kremlin's

oversight of the internet in Russia.

A consortium of Russian investors made up of senior Yandex

Russian management, a fund controlled by oil major Lukoil

and three other companies owned by businessmen

Alexander Chachava, Alexander Ryazanov and Prass, purchased

Yandex's Russian assets.

VK, which reported a net loss of more than $1 billion for

2024, is seeking to raise up to 115 billion roubles ($1.37

billion) through an additional share issue to existing

shareholders to reduce its debt burden.

VK's statement reveals that Prass is already a shareholder

in VK and is evidence of consolidation in Russia's tech sector.

On Friday, VK named the buyers in its private subscription

of 354 million shares at 324.9 roubles per piece as AM-Invest

and Agana. It did not specify how the stakes would be

distributed.

One of Prass' companies owns a 19% stake in Agana, Russian

corporate filings showed.

The additional share issue, if approved by shareholders at

an April 30 meeting, will see the buyers own 61% of VK's

increased capital.

($1 = 84.1000 roubles)