SoftBank is planning $10bn Uber investment, but only if it can get a discount
- Friday, September 15th, 2017
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SoftBank is reportedly in talks with Uber over a $10bn (£7.3bn) investment in the ride hailing company, but is only interested if shareholders sell enough stock at a discount.
The investment would involve the Japanese tech giant buying shares directly from the company and existing shareholders, reports the Wall Street Journal. Completion of the full investment amount could give the SoftBank as much as a 22 per cent stake in Uber.
Despite Uber last being valued at $69bn, SoftBank is trying to convince shareholders to agree to an auction process that would price down the company’s shares and leave it valued at $50bn. 
The pair began initial talks back in July, but now it seems some sort of a deal is officially on the table. Since those initial talks, Uber, of course, has a new CEO at the helm in the form of former Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. This would come as Khosrowshahi’s first significant bit of business, and it could conclude as early as next week.
