The amount of the transaction does not require its approval by the antimonopoly authority. But the Federal Antimonopoly Service warns of risks to competition in such pooling of assets.
In February 2021, the media reported that Yandex announced the "Vezet" taxi aggregator's purchase. FAS Russia immediately requested all documents on the transaction from Yandex to verify compliance with antimonopoly legislation requirements.
After analyzing the information received, it was confirmed that the announced transaction does not require approval from the antimonopoly authority since the value of the acquired companies' assets is less than 400 million rubles.
FAS Russia notes that the purchase by Yandex of the "Vezet" taxi aggregator may negatively affect the level of economic concentration, but the transaction does not contradict the current legislation. However, the agency reminds that it has been suggested to provide more stringent criteria for transactions requiring FAS approval to prevent such cases fifth antimonopoly package.
As a reminder, in June 2020, FAS Russia refused to satisfy Yandex's application for the purchase of the "Vezet" taxi aggregator since this transaction could lead to restriction of competition. If such a deal was concluded, the joint share of Yandex.Taxi and "Vezet" would be 70% within the Russian Federation's borders, over 80% within the borders of nineteen constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and over 50% within the borders of thirty-two constituent entities.
