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LetterOne of Russian businessman Fridman invests $200 mln in Uber

In Russia, Uber began to operate in 2013. In October 2015, Uber announced plans to operate in all Russian cities with a million-plus population

© Sergei Bobylev/ITAR-TASS

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MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. LetterOne (L1), the holding controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, has invested $200 mln in Uber, LetterOne said in a statement on Friday.

"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," Mikhail Fridman, Chairman of L1 said as quoted by the statement.

In his turn Travis Kalanick, Uber’s CEO, said; "Every day millions of people rely on Uber to get from A to B. Hundreds of thousands of drivers use our app to make money. Our goal is simple: reliable and affordable transportation everywhere, for everyone, at the push of a button. L1’s knowledge of emerging markets will be crucial in helping us make cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more opportunities for drivers".

According to the statement L1 is seeking to invest $2-3 billion in late-stage technology growth opportunities globally over the next couple of years. L1 targets technology investments between $100 and 500 million, and looks for new strategic partnerships.

In January, unofficial reports emerged in media that USM Holdings of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov invested in Uber.

CNBC reported citing sources that in early January, Uber was priced at $62.5 bln for the new round of investments. The entry threshold for investors is $250,000.

In December, the Wall Street Journal wrote that Uber had attracted $2.1 bln in the course of a new round of financing and the company’s was priced at $64.6 bln. The Tiger Global foundation and T. Rowe Price Group were named among the investors. Earlier the journal reported that in July 2015, the start-up attracted $1 bln, while the whole company was appraised at $51 bln.

Uber is an international high-tech company, which develops mobile services for hiring a car with a personal driver. The company provides services in 360 cities in 64 countries. In Russia, the company began to operate in 2013. In October 2015, Uber announced plans to operate in all Russian cities with a million-plus population.

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