The ride-hailing company said on Tuesday that it will accept an investment from Japanese tech investor SoftBank.
Uber said on Tuesday that it will accept an investment from Japanese tech investor SoftBank, joining a growing portfolio of U. S. technology investments made by intrepid mogul Masayoshi Son.
Uber told CNBC:
Son has openly said he is looking to invest in either Uber or Lyft. An investment in Uber would double up with Son’s investment in Didi Chuxing, which co-owns Uber’s China operations. Son has also invested in Grab, a ride-hailing company in Southeast Asia and Ola, an India ride-hailing giant.
Investing in Uber this late in the game would not be cheap, given its lofty valuation, which was set largely before Uber’s latest set of problems. While the terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, The New York Times has reported that SoftBank is offering to buy some shares at a lower valuation.
SoftBank would enter the fray at Uber as the company adjusts to a new CEO amid a series of scandals, including a scathing workplace culture investigation and a regulatory ban in London.
Some of Uber’s investors also want to push out a venture capital firm that’s been pitted against former CEO Travis Kalanick. A shareholder group — including investors Shervin Pishevar, Ron Burkle and Adam Leber — are demanding Benchmark divest some of its shares and step down from the board of the troubled start-up.
Now, former Xerox Ursula Burns and banker John Thain — both appointed by Kalanick — will add to the chaos, which Pishevar told CNBC on Tuesday was like „amateur hour.“
Still, SoftBank is difficult to deter.
At a recent event hosted by Bloomberg, Son described how he has come back from low points like the dotcom crash, thanks to his „fighting“ spirit. Son said he invested in companies like Alibaba based on the charisma of the leaders.
Uber investor Venky Ganesan, managing director of Menlo Ventures, told CNBC: „Softbank is like the Iron Bank in Game of Thrones. You want them backing you because it changes your odds of success.“
