Uber Reaches Deal to Sell Stake to SoftBank
Under the agreement, a consortium of investors led by SoftBank will buy at least 14 percent of Uber through a combination of new
and existing stock, according to three people briefed on the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity because those details are confidential.
SoftBank plans to buy about $1 billion of fresh stock at Uber’s current valuation of about $68.5 billion,
but the bulk of the deal will be purchasing existing Uber shares from current investors.
As part of the deal, Uber’s board agreed to carry out a set of sweeping governance changes, including measures
that reduce the influence that Travis Kalanick, Uber’s former chief executive, has at the company.
SAN FRANCISCO — Uber finalized a deal on Sunday to sell a significant stake of itself to SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate,
paving the way for the ride-hailing company to make sweeping governance changes and to go public by 2019.
Upon closing, it will help fuel our investments in technology
and our continued expansion at home and abroad, while strengthening our corporate governance.”
The agreement follows an Oct. 3 Uber board meeting, in which directors voted to move forward with an investment from SoftBank.
If investors are reluctant to sell and SoftBank cannot hit its threshold of 14 percent
ownership of Uber, SoftBank can walk away from the deal, the people said.