San Francisco — Japan’s SoftBank Group is offering to purchase shares of Uber Technologies at a valuation of $48bn, a 30% discount on its most recent valuation of $68.5bn, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. The investment, which was approved by the Uber board in October, would also trigger a string of governance changes at Uber that would limit some early shareholders’ voting power, expand the board from 11 to 17 directors and cut the influence of former CEO Travis Kalanick. The investment and board moves are supported by new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and come at the end of a year of scandals and change for Uber, including the announcement last week that executives covered up a major hack in 2016. The consortium of investors, led by SoftBank and Dragoneer Investment Group, plans to take a stake of at least 14% in the ride-services company. The tender offer will launch on Tuesday, sources told Reuters, and investors have nearly a month to respond. The SoftBank-led investor...
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