(Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc said on Monday it would remove the company’s three executives on the board of its joint venture with Russia’s Yandex, as more western companies distance themselves amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Uber last year divested its stake in the foodtech and delivery joint venture, which it established with the tech giant in 2018 to combine their ride-sharing businesses in Russia and neighboring countries.
The ride-hailing company sold all of its holdings in the delivery and autonomous units of Yandex last year, and sold down its stake in the Yandex.Taxi mobility business to about 29%, roughly valued at about $800 million, while agreeing to a call option for Yandex to acquire the remaining shares.
“We are actively looking for opportunities to accelerate the sale of our remaining holdings and, in the meantime, will remove our executives from the board of the joint venture,” a spokesperson for Uber said.
The three executives have resigned, effective immediately, and will be replaced by a single non-executive representative, who will help to oversee the remaining divestiture.
Yandex had said earlier that it was interested in taking full control of the Yandex.Taxi ride-hailing service as a part of its plan to boost investment in online services.
The Russian company is also under pressure as Nasdaq Inc and Intercontinental Exchange Inc’s NYSE temporarily halted trading in the stock due to regulatory concerns.
Yandex was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
