Uber board strikes peace deal with SoftBank investment

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Uber Technologies Inc’s warring board members have struck a peace deal that allows a multibillion-dollar investment by SoftBank Group Corp to proceed, and which would resolve a legal battle between former Chief Executive Travis Kalanick and a prominent shareholder.

Venture capital firm Benchmark, an early investor with a board seat in the ride-services company, and Kalanick have reached an agreement over terms of the SoftBank investment, which could be worth up to 10 billion US dollars, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The Uber board first agreed more than a month ago to bring in SoftBank as an investor and board member, but negotiations have been slowed by ongoing fighting between Benchmark and Kalanick. The agreement struck on Sunday removed the final obstacle to allowing SoftBank to proceed with an offer to buy to stock.

Uber confirmed the deal was moving forward.

“We’ve entered into an agreement with a consortium led by SoftBank and Dragoneer on a potential investment,” an Uber spokesman said. “We believe this agreement is a strong vote of confidence in Uber’s long-term potential.”

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SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate that has become a heavyweight in Silicon Valley tech investing, is joined by Dragoneer Investment Group in leading a consortium of investors that plans to invest 1 billion US dollars to 1.25 billion US dollars in Uber, and in addition, will buy up to 17 percent of existing shares from investors and employees in a secondary transaction.

The terms were signed on Sunday, although the tender offer would likely take weeks to complete.

Uber is valued at 68 billion US dollars, the most highly valued venture-backed company in the world. SoftBank’s roughly 1 billion-US-dollar investment of fresh funding is expected to be at the same valuation. The secondary transaction, or the purchases from employees and existing investors, would be at a lower valuation.

A spokeswoman for Benchmark did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a spokesman for Kalanick declined to comment.

Completing the SoftBank deal would allow Uber to open a new chapter after a year of controversy, including the resignation of Kalanick, the ouster of several top executives, sexual harassment and discrimination allegations, and multiple federal criminal probes.

The deal is also tied to new governance rules that aim to distribute power more equally and bring more oversight to the company.

Source(s): Reuters