Uber board changes coming as SoftBank consortium buys 18% stake
San Francisco — A consortium led by SoftBank Group will buy a large number of shares of Uber Technologies in a deal that values the ride-services firm at $48bn, Uber said on Thursday, in a victory for new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. The price is a roughly 30% discount to Uber’s most recent valuation of $68bn. The deal will trigger a number of changes in the way the board oversees the company, which is dealing with federal criminal probes, a high-stakes lawsuit and an overhaul of its workplace culture. SoftBank and the rest of the consortium, which includes Dragoneer Investment Group, will own approximately 17.5% of Uber, a person familiar with the matter said. That stake includes a share purchase, through a tender offer, from earlier investors and employees at the $48bn valuation, as well as a $1.25bn investment of fresh funding at the $68bn level. Uber said the deal would close early next year. On Thursday it said existing investors had agreed to sell enough shares for SoftBank to go th...
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