Uber’s proposed USD 10bn investment deal with SoftBank sees talks focus on governance rather than price
Negotiations for Softbank’s [TYO:9984] potential USD 10bn investment in Uber Technologies via its Vision Fund have seen price sidelined as a secondary issue, the Financial Times reported. The price of a deal for the taxi-app company is currently less important than issues of governance and a decision on the board seats to be given to Softbank, according to a source close to negotiations.
A person with close links to the discussions said it is possible the deal terms might include co-founder Travis Kalanick and Benchmark Capital selling part of their Uber holdings to SoftBank in equal ratio, as investors including Benchmark are reluctant to diminish the control they have unless Kalanick does the same.
Kalanick unexpectedly and unilaterally announced this week the appointment of two new members to the board, which Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi subsequently described to employees as “disappointing” and very unusual, the report noted. Some of the company’s board members and investors are keen to implement governance reforms via the SoftBank deal which would minimise Kalanick’s influence, the item reported.
Benchmark holds a 13% Uber stake, while former CEO Kalanick owns around 10%, and Softbank is in talks to acquire a 17% to 22% stake, as previously reported.