Uber has agreed to sell a large stake of its ride-hailing firm to a consortium led by Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank at a steep discount to its last valuation, Bloomberg reported.
In November, Uber reached a deal with Softbank to sell a multi-billion dollar stake. The terms of that deal have now been confirmed. SoftBank is also a major investor in Ola, Uber’s main competition in India.
The deal values the ride-hailing services firm at $48 billion (Rs 3 lakh crore), Uber said on Thursday. The price is a 30% discount to Uber’s most recent valuation of $68 billion, Reuters reported.
“We look forward to working with the purchasers to close the overall transaction, which we expect to support our technology investments, fuel our growth and strengthen our corporate governance,” Uber said, according to BBC.
As part of the deal, Uber’s board will expand from 11 to 17 directors. Softbank’s investor group will take two of the new seats. The consortium will own 17.5% of Uber.
The deal is a victory for new Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi (pictured above) who helped negotiate it, and comes at a time when the company is plagued with controversies, from sexual harassment to discrimination and leadership changes.
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