4 years ago

Yandex buys out Uber from joint ventures in $1B deal

Frequently dubbed Russia's Google, Yandex started out as a search engine and developed into one of the country's greatest tech success stories.

AFP

The Uber logo is seen outside the company's headquarters in San Francisco, California, on May 8, 2019.

Russian IT giant Yandex has said it had reached a $1 billion deal to buy out ride-hailing service Uber from several joint ventures, squeezing the US company out of ex-Soviet markets.

Under the deal, Yandex will buy Uber's stake in their shared food delivery operations and a business that develops self-driving vehicles, gaining 100 percent ownership.

Yandex will also increase to 71 percent its stake in transport ventures with Uber – including taxi and car-sharing services – with an option to purchase the remaining shares for up to $2 billion.

The transactions will be completed by the end of the year, Yandex said.

Uber and Yandex had combined their ride-sharing businesses in Russia and neighbouring ex-Soviet countries in 2018.

Uber sold its shares in Russian food delivery business to Yandex for $1bln, reports Bloomberg. According to @Statista_com, online food delivery is a fast-growing market in Russia, projected to reach $2,04 bln this year, and $3,3 bln by 2025. https://t.co/7yNiqbca1p #dataondemand
— Vadim Makarenko (@sardanapal) August 31, 2021

Frequently dubbed Russia's Google, Yandex started out as a leading search engine and developed into one of the country's greatest tech success stories.

The New York-listed company dominates Russia's IT sector, taxi-hailing services and food delivery operations with its army of bicycle couriers and multiple warehouses known as "dark stores".

Yandex's food delivery services skyrocketed last year after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic drove Russian cities into lockdown.

Yandex.Lavka – which delivers groceries in as few as 15 minutes – has expanded to France and is also preparing to launch in London.