Uber’s board and shareholders have thought about selling shares to SoftBank and other companies. One of the early investors of Uber, Benchmark, a venture capital firm, is among a set of investors who have initiated talks to sell shares.
However, an unknown but familiar source from Softbank, who knows about the company’s plans commented that it is not in talks to purchase Uber shares. No one from the ride hailing company was available to comment on the update. Another investor of Uber, TPG, an Uber board member was also not available to comment on this development.
It was reported that insiders from Uber are planning to sell their shares, and moreover, the company executives are encouraging employees to do the same. They are doing this to give a thrust to the overall morale of the company. However, the decision is completely in the hands of Uber’s Board of Directors, as most of the top brass have left the organization in recent weeks.
Selling of shares will bring about a significant impact in the relationship between the company and its investor Benchmark, which is why Travis Kalanick was asked to leave.
Softbank has made serious investments lately, particularly in the transportation industry. Some of the key investments it has made are in Brazil 99, Didi Chuxing and Lyft. There are speculations about Softbank investing in Uber’s rival, Singapore-based Grab.
CEO Mayasoshi Son has made some claims and shown keen interest in investing in upcoming technologies.
Anirudh M. for TechFunnel.com
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