LetterOne (L1), an international investment group controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman, sold its stake in Uber for $173 million in February last year. The transaction was made public in the group’s 2019 financial report, as reported by RBC.
LetteOne had purchased this stake for $200 million in 2016, presenting the deal as “strategic investment.”
Fridman said at that time: “I’m excited by our strategic partnership with Uber. As entrepreneurs, with experience in retail, banking, telecoms and energy sectors, and knowledge of diverse developed and emerging markets, we believe that Uber’s highly talented management team possesses the necessary vision and skills to build the company into one of the world’s preeminent technology businesses.”
Two other Russian billionaires had invested in the US company: Ziyavudin Magomedov and Alisher Usmanov.
The US startup arrived in Russia in 2013. But four years later the US company retreated from this market, merging its local activities with those of market leader Yandex.Taxi.
