Yandex, a Russian ride-hail and internet giant Yandex, has purchased Ubers stakes in its Self-Driving Groups (SDG) as well as Ubers indirect interests in Yandex.Eats and Yandex.Delivery. The deal cost $1 billion and gave the Russian company 100% control over the four businesses.
Yandex SDG, an autonomous technology spinout of MLU B.V. is Yandex's ride-hailing and food delivery joint venture Yandex created with Uber in 2018. It merged Yandex.Taxi's Russian operations. Uber owned a 36.6% share in the company at the time. Uber had an 18.2% stake in SDG when it was spun off into a separate company last year. Yandex has now bought it out. Yandex also bought Uber's 33.5% combined interest in Yandexs last-mile logistics, food delivery and convenience store delivery services.
In 2019, Yandex was rumored to be considering an IPO for the JV. Morgan Stanley had estimated that it would be worth around $7.7billion. Yandex claims autonomous driving technology is highly complementary to the Yandex ecosystem. Morgan Stanley estimated that it was worth around $7.7 billion. Uber reported a loss of $509 million in Q2 before EBITDA, this year. It might be seeking a profitable exit to refocus its priorities closer home.
Yandex will be able to increase its flexibility and strategic management in self-driving technology. A spokesperson for Yandex told TechCrunch. This acquisition will allow Yandex SDG and Yandex SDG to unlock additional growth potential, creating new value for shareholders.
According to Uber's SEC filing, Monday's acquisitions are part a larger restructuring process for the MLU B.V. joint ventures and Yandex SDG joint Ventures. The acquisitions will take place in two stages. Stage 1, which is expected close by Q3 2011, will give Yandex 4.5% ownership in the newly restructured MLU. This will be used to focus on mobility businesses such as ride-hailing or car-sharing. Yandex now has 71% ownership of the JV. 2.8% is reserved for employee equity programs. Uber's 18.2% stake in SDG will also be sold during the initial stage.
Stage 2 is expected to be completed by the end this year. It includes the demerger of Yandex.Eats and Yandex.Lavka, as well as the delivery from MLU and the subsequent acquisition of Ubers interests in these businesses.
Yandex will also be granted a two year American call option to purchase the remaining Ubers interests in MLU. The fixed price for Yandex is $1.8 billion. However, this could change depending on the agreed increases during the option period. If the option is exercised by 2023, this number will rise to $2 billion. Uber will continue to be used in Russia by the Russian company until August 2030.
Yandex will also be granted an extension to the current license that allows for the exclusive use of Uber's brand in Russia and other countries up until August 2030. This is assuming Yandex exercises the option. Yandex stock rose 5.16% Tuesday, closing at market close.
