Forbes: “Yandex” will redeem a share of Uber in Russia

Yandex is negotiating with Uber to buy out a 29% stake in the MLU BV joint venture, which operates taxi aggregators Yandex.Taxi and Yango, as well as the Uber brand in Russia and the CIS. After the transaction is approved, Yandex will become a 100% owner of MLU BV, registered in the Netherlands, reports Forbes citing a source familiar with the negotiations and a source in the investment community.

In August 2021, the Yandex press service reportedthat the Russian company bought Uber’s shares in Yandex.Food, Lavka, Delivery and its unmanned division for $1 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Yandex received a pre-emptive right to buy out Uber’s remaining 29% stake in the joint venture at a price in the range of $1.8 billion to $2 billion.

A source familiar with the negotiations told Forbes that after the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, the value of Uber’s share “dipped.” march 1 american company announcedwhich plans to accelerate the sale of a stake in a joint venture with Yandex.

According to a Forbes interlocutor in the investment community, Yandex will pay for 29% the amount that Uber was offered by Kismet Capital Group of businessman Ivan Tavrin, as well as a “small premium.” In December, sources told The Agency that Kismet Capital Group offered Uber $925 million for a stake in MLU BV.

Uber and Yandex formed a joint venture in February 2018. In June 2020, Bloomberg reported, citing two sources, that Yandex plans buy out the share of the American company in the joint venture. Uber previously valued its stake in the joint venture at $1.24 billion.

Erdni Kagaltynov