Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Uber Technologies Inc. (Uber) on the combination of its ridesharing business in Russia and neighbouring Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries with Yandex.Taxi. The deal completed on 7 February 2018. Uber now owns 36.9% of the combined business and its stake is valued at US$1.4 billion.

The firm's London, Moscow and Brussels offices advised on the transaction. The Corporate deal team consisted of partner Tomasz Wozniak and key associates Yulia Zaytseva and Lauren Faba in London. Competition partners André Pretorius and Kyriakos Fountoukakos and the team consisting of Lisa Geary, Holly Boyd-Boland, Dylan McIntyre and Clémence Barraud in London and Brussels led the complex merger control workstream in Russia and other CIS jurisdictions.

Russian Corporate and Tax partner Oleg Konnov, associate Bogdana Shtoma and trainee Emil Shagiakhmetov assisted with the restructuring of the Uber business into the new company. The deal team was also assisted by IP and Technology Of Counsel Aaron White and associates James Balfour and Ruaridh Goodfield and Disputes partner Jeremy Garson and senior associates Gareth Keillor and Kevin Kilgour.

The firm advised alongside Uber's US counsel, Cooley, with Morgan Lewis advising Yandex.