Govt commission clears Yandex to buy Uber out of JV - source

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - A sub-commission of the Russian government's commission on foreign investment has approved a deal for Yandex to buy Uber out of the MLU B.V. joint venture, a source close to the sub-commission told reporters.

"De facto, this deal has already been agreed. The sub-commission has already reached this decision last week," the source said.

The source said the terms of the deal provided for a discount of "at least 50%" to the value of the stake. The actual value was not disclosed. "The deal is good for Uber, the terms are super. The discount s no less than 50% of the stake's value," the source said.

Interfax has asked Yandex's press office to comment.

It was reported in March 2022 that Uber Technologies intended to speed up its exit from the JV with Yandex amid the situation in Ukraine. Details emerged only at the beginning of this year, when RBC quoted a source as saying Yandex had agreed to buy out the remaining stake in the MLU B.V. joint venture with Uber for $925 million.

Yandex increased its stake in the JV to 71% in 2021, paying around $1 billion. The deal included an option to buy out the remaining 29% in MLU B.V. from Uber for $1.8 billion-$2 billion by September 2023.

Yandex and Uber began developing the JV in 2018, with the partners announcing a restructuring in August 2021 that resulted in the continuing development of the respective taxi, car sharing, and scooter rental services. The Russian company has assumed 100% ownership of the foodtech business, Yandex Delivery, and the Yandex SDG self-driving business.