The merger of uber and Yandex. How the merger of Uber and Yandex.Taxi will affect passengers and drivers. What will happen to the services

Yandex.Taxi and Uber announced the closing of a deal to combine businesses in Russia and several CIS countries. Compared to previously announced plans, the valuation of the new company has increased by more than $75 million

Photo: Natalia Seliverstova / RIA Novosti

According to a message received by RBC, Yandex, Yandex.Taxi and Uber closed a deal to combine the business of companies in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan.

In the combined company, Yandex received 59.3% of the shares, Uber - 36.9%, employees of the new structure - 3.8%. Uber has invested in new company$225 million, Yandex — $100 million.

Tigran Khudaverdyan, who previously headed Yandex.Taxi, became the CEO of the new company. The board of directors includes four representatives from Yandex and three from Uber.

The companies agreed to merge businesses in several CIS countries in July 2017. Initially, it was assumed that the distribution of shares in the company would be somewhat different: 59.3% of the new structure would belong to Yandex, 36.6% to Uber, and 4.1% to its employees. As a result of the deal, Yandex was supposed to receive a small stake in Uber's global business. At the end of November 2017, the deal was signed by the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

Initially, the cost of the merged company was estimated at $3.725 billion. The Yandex report states that now this figure is “estimated at more than $3.8 billion.” As a representative of Yandex explained, the new estimate was formed “taking into account cash Money which the combined company will be able to dispose of. As a result of the closing of the transaction, her accounts will have more than $400 million.

As representatives of the companies previously explained, after the transaction, both of their applications will continue to exist. However, the merger should improve the quality of services of both companies. As their representatives explained, a single technological platform will be created for taxi companies and drivers, which should increase the number of cars available for order fulfillment, reduce the time for their delivery, reduce idle mileage, and increase the reliability and availability of the service as a whole.

The united company "Yandex.Taxi" and Uber will not only transport passengers, but also deliver food from restaurants - the UberEATS service was included in the deal. In addition, in December 2017, Yandex.Taxi closed a deal to buy food delivery service Foodfox. According to RBC, the purchase of Foodfox cost Yandex.Taxi about 500 million rubles.

According to the analytical center under the Russian government, the volume of the taxi market in Russia in the last couple of years has increased by 14.2% annually and at the end of 2017 amounted to 575 billion rubles. The authors of the study call the group of companies "Vezet" the largest player in the market with a share of 12.3% - it was created by combining Fasten Russia taxi services (operating under the brands "Saturn" and RedTaxi) and "Vezet" (brands RuTaxi, "Leader", "Lucky"). The total share of Yandex.Taxi and Uber at the end of the year amounted to 10.4% of the market, which means that their combined structure will take second place in the market. It is followed by Maxim with 7.6% of the market, and then Gett with a 2.5% share. In general, aggregators still occupy only 32.8% of the taxi market in Russia, the remaining share falls on the traditional offline ordering market.

Increasingly, people order a taxi through special mobile applications. Demand is acquiring the Yandex.Taxi service, which is distinguished by a fixed cost of tariff plans, speed and quality of service. Comparing which is better - Yandex Taxi or Uber - it must be clarified that both are now part of a single company, the difference is only in the software used.

Yandex Taxi and Uber informed the public about their merger.

What is better Yandex Taxi or Uber - where is it better to work

Yandex.Taxi employees can count on an average monthly salary of up to 150,000 rubles. You can start earning after considering an application for employment and completing registration in the system. The driver can receive income after the end of the first working day, but on the condition that customers have paid in cash. In the case of a cashless transfer, the taxi driver will have to wait.

As it used to be in Uber, drivers make their own individual trip schedule. After joining Yandex.Taxi, the rules have not changed. If necessary, each driver receives a smartphone with a proprietary mobile application pre-installed on it.

When choosing the Uber or Yandex Taxi app to earn money, an employee must understand that the amount of his income will depend on which car he will use - his own or rented. In the first case, he will receive a large profit, and in the second, he will have to spend part of the earnings on renting a car. In Yandex.Taxi, after a sufficient number of trips, an employee receives the Premium status, which gives him access to more expensive orders.

Comparative table of cost by tariffs

Comparing the rates of "Yandex" with the rates of Uber, it is clear that there are minor differences.

Price table:

Yandex regularly holds promotions, during which you can get to your destination at a lower price, most often this applies to the central areas of the city.

Comparison of the cost of a trip to Yandex Taxi, Gett and Uber in Moscow.

Price for additional services

To additional services relate:

• baby car seat;
• travel outside the city;
• transportation of bulky luggage, sports equipment, pets;
• WiFi.

Information about the need for an additional fee should be clarified before the trip. In the city, one kilometer of the trip is estimated at 11 rubles, outside the city limits the cost rises to 19 rubles. According to the rules of the system, 3 minutes of waiting are not charged. Each next 1 minute of waiting is estimated at 9 rubles. with the option "Economy" and 12 rubles. connected tariff plan"Comfort".

Service quality assessment

Comparing which service is better, it should be emphasized that both in the Uber mobile application and in Yandex, ordering a taxi is carried out by pressing one button. The company presents high requirements to the quality of the vehicles used, the degree of qualification and experience of the drivers. Attention is paid to the safety of passengers and the quality of service. You can order a car in almost any locality Russia.

Customers can pay for trips online, including using electronic money and bank card. Passengers can use any services from the list of available options. Each person can evaluate the work of the service and leave a review.

Comfort and class of cars

The company's taxi fleet has cars of different classes, levels of comfort and capacity. When evaluating a driver's personal vehicle, Yandex.Taxi takes into account the year of manufacture of the vehicle. Cars older than 5 years undergo mandatory control, where they are examined and tested by specialists. Depending on the condition of the car, it can be issued for economy or business class trips. At the same time, not only the brand is evaluated, but also the primary cost of the car.

Yandex Taxi and Uber cars are technically sound and on the go.

Passenger service

When serving passengers, their wishes are taken into account. Using the application, each client can choose a car of the required class and capacity level. You do not need to call the office to place an order - just leave the appropriate application. The program has an option to calculate the cost of the trip, depending on the chosen route and other factors.

Thanks to the GPS-map built into the program, the location of the user is determined, and then the location of free cars located nearby. You can pay for the service with a card attached to your profile in advance. Regular users can use the accumulated points to pay for trips, discounts are available for them. The cost of the trip is not affected by changing weather conditions, traffic jams, the figure indicated initially will remain the same.

Each client can contact the Yandex.Taxi technical support service by opening a chat with a specialist on the company's website. Passengers can send a message to consultants via mobile app. Here you can leave a comment for the driver before the trip, see on the map the route of the called taxi. The service can be used both when you are on the territory of Russia and abroad.

In addition, there is a free hotline, by calling which, each person can consult on all emerging issues with the contact center operator. By subscribing to the group social network, the client will receive comprehensive information on the operation of the service, will be able to leave a comment or feedback.

It has become a real information bomb - this merger can significantly change the further development of the taxi market in Russia.

Rusbase decided to get the opinion of a specialist on the topic - Ilya Ekushevsky, co-founder of the Busfor service, tells what the unification of services means, why it happened and what are the price prospects for end customers.

“Ride and enough”: what does the merger of Yandex.Taxi and Uber mean - expert opinion

Ilya Ekushevsky

Ride and enough

The fact is that the consolidation of large players can lead to market monopolization. As a result, the service will rise in price for end customers, but not immediately.

According to Western publications, the deal on the merger of companies should be completed before the end of this year, so while the cost of the service, most likely, will not change. But in 2018, changes can be expected: the prerequisites for increasing the cost have long been ripe.

The possible increase in prices is due to the fact that, due to competition, the cost of a taxi ride has fallen to such an extent that the service has become affordable for everyone. Therefore, an increase in prices may occur at least in those cities where the share of the merged company will be high.

The residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg will most likely be the first to feel the change in prices:

• First, these are the cities with the highest average income per inhabitant (in comparison with other regions of Russia).
• Secondly, here the price of a trip to Yandex.Taxi and Uber was initially higher than in other cities of the country. Thus, an average trip to Yandex.Taxi in St. Petersburg cost 300-400 rubles, while, for example, in Perm, a client could pay only 100-200 rubles. Uber in the regions gave more low prices: from 60 rubles for a trip in the same Perm and from 150-200 - in St. Petersburg.

The audience in large cities is less sensitive to price increases, and here a new company can make good money. Due to this, in other regions of the country, the cost is likely to remain low, which will allow you to have a competitive offer and increase your market share.

Competition is expensive

There are other prerequisites for combining the two services. It has become too expensive for each of the parties to compete: in a price war, traffic alone is not enough, you need to constantly attract external investment. Multimillion-dollar investments do not always pay off.

I believe that the parties have determined that when they merge, their own economy will work better for them, and the business will accelerate in development due to volume.

Remember? This has already happened

The world has similar examples successful mergers. So, in the Chinese market, where in the summer of 2016 Uber teamed up with a major local player Didi Chuxing, he only won. Obviously, it was becoming more and more difficult and expensive for the American service to compete in the specific Chinese market, so the parties found common ground that worked for efficiency.

Global taxi markets are heavily occupied by strong local players. So, in China, Russia, India, the American service obviously had a hard time, so Uber opted for collaboration rather than fierce competition.

The freed up funds can be used by Uber to develop the product and develop its own autopilot, which will definitely create a strong advantage in the future.

What about Gett?

The merger with Uber could bring other changes as well. The rest of the market players will have to look for new ways of development, to adapt to the changing market conditions.

Gett "y, one side, it will become more difficult to develop in the market next to the combined company, because they will have fewer drivers. On the other hand, he will be able to keep his audience due to the best market offer, on a small volume it is cheaper to provide a low cost of transportation.

Theoretically, Gett can also team up with other strong Russian players, for example, with RuTaxi services (Saturn, Lucky and Leader). In my opinion, the struggle for a large part of the market is just beginning.

07/13/2017, Thu, 13:32, Moscow time , Text: Igor Korolev

Yandex has agreed to merge its taxi service with Uber. The united company will be controlled by Yandex and $325 million will be invested in it.

"Yandex" creates a joint venture with Uber

The Yandex company has agreed to merge the Yandex.Taxi service with Uber. The partnership will work in Russia, as well as in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan.

Uber will invest $225 million in the combined company, Yandex - $100 million. Control in the new structure will belong to Yandex - it will have 59.3%. 36.6% of the shares will be owned by Uber. Another 4.1% will be owned by the company's employees.

What will the combined company look like?

The united company will be headed by the CEO of Yandex.Taxi Tigran Khudaverdyan. According to a press release, the new company will use Yandex's technologies and knowledge in the field of mapping and navigation services and search engines and Uber's global track record as the world's leading online travel booking service.

This will create an even more dynamic and sustainable business that meets all the needs of users and drivers, and also helps to develop the transport infrastructure of cities and regions.

In the united taxi of "Yandex" and Uber the controlling stake will be received by "Yandex"

After the deal is closed, both apps for ordering rides, Yandex.Taxi and Uber, will continue to be available to users. At the same time, taxi fleets and drivers will switch to a single technological platform. As stated in the press release, this will increase the number of cars available for order fulfillment, reduce the time for their delivery, reduce idle mileage, increase the reliability and availability of the service as a whole.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017. As part of the agreement, Yandex.Taxi agreed on roaming with Uber. Now tourists from Russia will be able to call a taxi abroad using the Yandex.Taxi application, and cars from Yandex.Taxi will be available to tourists from abroad using the Uber application. The launched Uber service for UberEats food delivery.

Chinese variant

Interestingly, a year earlier, in August 2016, Uber did in China by being taken over by local taxi startup Didi Chuxing.

Didi Chuxing is China's largest taxi ordering service headquartered in Beijing. According to Reuters, the share of the service in the taxi ordering services market in China is 55%. Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick(Travis Kalanick) in 2016 estimated the share of his company in the Chinese market at 30-35%.

The cost of the joint venture between Uber and Didi Chuxing was supposed to be about $35 billion. Uber China investors received a 20% stake in Didi. The Uber brand itself continued its presence in the Chinese market after the deal, and Didi Chuxing was supposed to invest $1 billion in the development of Uber in the US.

Taxi market estimates

According to VTB-Capital, the legal taxi market in Russia in 2016 amounted to 501 billion rubles. At the same time, according to estimates Analytical Center under the government, the market of "gray" taxis amounted to 116 billion rubles. Thus, the share of the combined company in terms of revenue in 2016 would be 5-6% of the entire market.

Possible reasons for the merger

A source in the taxi market sees several reasons for Uber to merge with Yandex.Taxi. “Essentially, Uber invented the “bombed” market for the European Union and the United States, but in Russia it has existed for years. Besides, in Russian Uber one has to face various problems: claims from the Federal Antimonopoly Service and Roskomnadzor, requirements to work exclusively with licensed drivers, etc. For this reason, it was not easy for Uber to work in Russia.”

Due to the news about the merger of taxi services "Yandex" and Uber, "Yandex" shares reached an all-time high

In addition, partners need to join forces to advance in the regions. In Moscow, Yandex.Taxi is the leader in terms of the number of trips, Gett is in second place, and Uber is third. At the same time, in the whole country, the leaders are the services "Maxim", "Vezet" and Rutaxi, the source of CNews notes.

The combined company will have access to the combined capital, which will strengthen marketing promotion and offer various digital services. But whether tariffs will be reduced is a question, because such a step will require support from the drivers themselves, adds the source of the publication. Yandex did not comment on the issue of changes in the tariff policy.

Shares of "Yandex" reached a historical maximum

Immediately after the announcement of the creation of a joint company with Uber, Yandex shares began to rise in price.

By 14:00 Moscow time on July 13, 2017, their growth was 18%, and the price reached $27.72 on the Nasdaq exchange and 1.95 thousand rubles. on the Moscow Exchange, which, according to Vesti.Ekonomika, has become a historical maximum share price in the history of the company.

Toward evening, trading in Yandex shares on the Moscow Exchange was transferred to a special regime due to growth of more than 20%. Shares Yandex N.V. on the Nasdaq in New York rose by almost 16.5% compared to the previous reporting period and are traded at $31.83 per share. At the same time, the growth of securities quotes reached 18.7%, TASS notes.

and Uber have decided to merge their online ride-sharing businesses and form a new company to do so, the companies said. The combined company will operate in Russia, as well as in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan. Uber's business in Ukraine is not part of the deal, an Uber spokeswoman said.

In Russia as in China?

Last summer, Uber sold the Chinese business to local rival Didi Chuxing Technology. In China, the company was losing about $1 billion a year and decided to give up the fight for the market.

Immediately after the announcement of the deal at 13.00 Moscow time, Yandex quotes on the Moscow Exchange soared by almost 7%, and then continued to grow and by 13.40 Moscow time grew by more than 17% to a historical maximum of 1915 rubles.

Uber and Yandex decided to invest $225 million and $100 million respectively in the new company, valuing the combined company at $3.725 billion. The company will be 59.3% owned by Yandex, 36.6% by Uber, and 4.1% by employees of the combined company. “Our teams will be united. I'm becoming CEO united company,” said Tigran Khudaverdyan, CEO of Yandex.Taxi. According to Khudaverdyan, the companies want to build "personal public transport" together - an alternative to a private car, buses and metro.

Who won, who lost?

Financial Times writes that in this way Uber is inferior to Yandex Russian market taxi after several years of intense competition. The newspaper points out that this is the first strategic move by Uber since the scandalous departure of the founder of the service, Travis Kalanick.

A player with a dominant position in the market, close to a monopoly, is being formed, says Alexander Frolov, partner at the Target Global venture fund. According to him, the fund invested in the American taxi service Juno. The united player will complicate the development of other services, such as Gett, City Mobil, "Lucky", Frolov believes. He saw a similar example in China, when local carrier Didi Chuxing also teamed up with Uber. Previously, services actively competed, which resulted in favorable tariffs for users. But now the dumping period is ending, Frolov is sure.

Partner of UFG Private Equity (invested in the combined company of RuTaxi and Saturn) Artur Akopyan believes that Uber deal and Yandex.Taxi was the result of subsidies from services: in a highly competitive environment, companies reduced prices and actually reimbursed the cost of trips to both drivers and passengers. According to his estimates, companies spent tens of millions of dollars every month on subsidies. The market simply cannot maintain such a level of competition for a long time, Akopyan says. He recalls that the merger of RuTaxi and Saturn was one of the first signs of imminent market consolidation. He believes that in the end, two or three players should remain from the variety of companies, and taxi prices will rise.

“This merger will increase the number of orders and the volume of trips for taxi companies that previously worked with only one of the aggregators, as well as simplify the access of taxi companies to a larger number of passengers. Combining the platform for drivers Uber and Yandex.Taxi will allow more efficient distribution of orders between drivers and reduce idle run time, which will positively affect earnings. On the other hand, I do not think that the tariff policy of services will change - the new structure still has a large number of competitors, such as Fasten, RuTaxi, Maxim and Gett, which occupy significant market shares. Any decisions of the united company, leading to an increase in tariffs for taxi companies, will only lead to the flow of partners and drivers to competing companies, which will have a negative impact on the quality of service. It is unlikely that Yandex and Uber do not understand this, ”Irina Zaripova, chairman of the public council for the development of taxis, told Vedomosti.

Applications will remain

After the deal is closed, both applications for ordering trips - both Yandex.Taxi and Uber - will continue to be available to users. But taxi fleets and drivers will switch to a single technological platform, which will increase the number of cars available for order fulfillment, reduce the time for their delivery, reduce idle mileage, and increase the reliability and availability of the service as a whole, the message emphasizes.

"The combined company will use Yandex's technologies and knowledge in the field of mapping and navigation services and search engines and the experience of Uber as the world leader among online services for ordering trips," the parties noted.

The boards of directors of both companies have already approved the deal, now regulators must agree on it. The parties expect to complete the merger in the fourth quarter of 2017. “The FAS Russia has not received a petition to merge the Yandex and Uber businesses for online travel bookings in Russia and other countries. The shares of companies in this market will be determined in the course of a comprehensive consideration of the application upon receipt,” said the head of the Communications and information technologies FAS Elena Zaeva.

“According to Yandex forecasts, the share of their joint business with Uber will be less than 50% of the market. Accordingly, if the share of the combined company is less than 50%, and if it does not have a decisive influence on the functioning of the taxi market, does not impede competition in the market, the merger of the two companies will comply with the requirements of antitrust law,” said BGP Litigation Senior Associate Anastasia Evtushenko.

According to statistics for the past June, the combined platform will cover 127 cities in six countries, both services account for 35 million trips per month, their total cost amounted to 7.9 billion rubles.