Uber hands over Russia biz to Yandex with $3.7-bn merger

Uber Technologies is handing over the keys to its business in Russia

The San Francisco-based company and Yandex NV are merging their ride-hailing businesses in Russia. Uber will invest $225 million and take a 36.6 per cent stake in a new, yet-to-be named venture that will be valued at $3.73 billion, the companies said in a statement Thursday. The shares of Yandex, which will invest $100 million and own 59.3 per cent of the new enterprise, rose as much as 9.6 per cent in Moscow, the highest since June 2014.

The deal with Yandex is Uber’s second retreat from a major market. Last year, Uber left China in exchange for a 17.5