Here’s why Russian companies are leaving London

Pedestrians walk under a board listing foreign currency rates against the Russian ruble outside an exchange office in central Moscow, on November 7, 2014. The ruble on November 6 slid to new lows of over 46 to the dollar and 58 to the euro, which gained more than two rubles in one day. The euro reached 58.11 rubles after the market closed Thursday, up from 56.08 rubles the previous evening. The dollar rose to 46.77 rubles from 44.95 rubles late November 5. The Russian currency has fallen in value by about a quarter this year despite a number of interventions by the central bank costing billions of dollars. AFP PHOTO / VASILY MAXIMOV (Photo credit should read VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Photograph by Vasily Maximov — AFP/Getty Images

The London stock exchange is about to lose three of its major Russian companies.

All three companies produce various commodities. The collapse in commodity prices—plus the double whammy of being based in Russia, an emerging market that has particularly struggled recently—have hurt the company’s stocks to the point that they are planning to delist in London, Bloomberg reports.

The companies include oil producer Eurasia Drilling Co., potash miner Uralkali PJSC and gold miner Polyus Gold International. Two of the companies, Eurasia Drilling and Polyus Gold, are planning to exit the London exchange via buyout transactions that will take the companies private.

Eurasia Drilling has had a bad year in the British market, with its share price down about 55%. Meanwhile, the Russian companies may fare better on the Moscow market than they have in London: Uralkali, for one, dropped 11% on the London market over the last year, but soared 34% on the Russian stock exchange.

The difference in performance is due to currency fluctuations, as the decline of the Russian ruble boosted stock returns in the local currency.