Yandex, a Russian multinational corporation with Dutch roots, has reportedly announced on that it has inked a $1 billion deal to fully buy out Uber's stake in their joint delivery, self-driving, and food tech ventures.
On the announcement, shares of the Russian technology behemoth climbed up more than 3% to a new height of $76 per share at the opening of the stock market in New York, where the firm is publicly traded on Nasdaq.
The agreement heralds a new phase in Yandex and Uber's partnership, which has seen the duo consolidate their position as Russia's largest ride-hailing service and rollout a slew of projects in areas like self-driving cars, food delivery, as well as car-sharing.
Yandex will gain full control of its food delivery businesses, which includes the fast-food delivery firm Yandex Eats and grocery delivery firm Yandex Lavka. Along with that Yandex will also hold full control of its self-driving group.
Before this deal, Uber had a 33.5% stake in the food delivery operation and 18.2% in the self-driving vehicle unit.
Yandex has also expanded its share within the pair’s mobility-focused JV, MLU, to 71%. The JV includes the profitable Yandex Taxi business, one of Russia's leading ride-hailing service provider, and the Yandex Drive car-sharing operation.
According to Yandex, the two firms agreed on a call option that allows Yandex to purchase Uber's remaining 29% stake in MLU for $1.8 billion at any time in the coming two years. The agreement values the pair's ride-hailing firm at an estimated $6 billion.
Yandex's deputy CEO, Tigran Khudaverdyan, stated that the agreement provides new significant business growth potential for the pair's businesses.
Yandex is Russia's most valued publicly listed internet corporation, with a market capitalization of about $26 billion. The agreement has received the approval of both firm’s management and is slated to be concluded by the end of the year.
Source credit: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/08/31/yandex-buys-uber-out-of-food-delivery-partnership-in-1bln-deal-a74935
