Yandex decided to buy out Uber's share in Russia

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Yandex is negotiating to buy Uber's stake in their joint venture in Russia to become its sole owner. For the share of the American company "Yandex" can pay about $ 925 million. But first, this deal will have to be approved by the government commission for foreign investment control.

Yandex has decided to buy from Uber a 29% stake in the joint venture MLU BV, which operates the taxi business under the Yandex.Taxi, Yango and Uber brands. about the upcoming deal told Sources Forbes and RBC , and The Bell's interlocutor on the market confirmed this information.

A joint venture between Yandex and Uber was created in 2018. The companies initially had big plans for a joint future, but already in 2021, Yandex began to increase its share in the joint venture, and then received the right to buy out the remaining share of Uber in full within two years. The price was then determined in the range of $ 1.8-2 billion. However, in 2022 he made adjustments: the value of assets dipped noticeably after the start of the war, writes Forbes.

According to RBC sources, which are confirmed by The Bell's interlocutor, under the terms of the new agreement between Yandex and Uber, the Russian company plans to pay about $925 million for the remaining share in MLU BV. That is, exactly as much as for it, according to the Agency . , at the end of December, was offered by the founder of Kismet Capital Group and the ex-head of MegaFon Ivan Tavrin. This is an order of magnitude more than Yandex was originally going to pay, said The Bell interlocutors familiar with the situation. A Forbes source notes that Tavrin's intervention played into the hands of Uber, who wanted to sell the asset at a higher price, and Yandex will eventually pay for 29% in MLU BV with a "small premium" to the alternative offer.

True, in order for this deal to take place, it will first have to be approved by the government commission for the control of foreign investment.