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posted by martyb on Saturday December 30 2017, @05:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the gotta-pay-for-those-Volvos-somehow dept.

SoftBank has finally secured a large stake in Uber that devalues the company and reduces former CEO Travis Kalanick's influence on the company:

Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group has bought a 20 percent stake in Uber, completing a months-long process, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move drops Uber's value by about 30 percent from around $70 billion to $48 billion — a reflection of the trouble that the ride-hailing company has experienced across 2017.

More important than the valuation change, though, could be the impact SoftBank's new stake will have on the influence former CEO Travis Kalanick still has on the company. Kalanick resigned from his post earlier this year after a number of scandals, but still maintains a seat on the company's board of directors, where he is surrounded by allies and controls 16 percent of the voting power.

The SoftBank deal triggers new governance terms at Uber that were approved by the company's board in October, though. The size of the board will expand from 11 to 17, which dilutes the power Kalanick wields. Two of those seats will go to SoftBank.

Also at Recode, CNBC, and Quartz.

Previously: SoftBank to Invest Billions in Uber
SoftBank Knew of Data Breach at Uber
SoftBank Devalues Uber by 30% With Latest Offer


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 30 2017, @11:18PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 30 2017, @11:18PM (#616005)

    In civilized places, where the gov't hasn't completely sold its soul to the Oligarchs, there's a sign of light.
    The European Court of Justice (ECJ) Declares Uber a Transport Service [soylentnews.org] for example.

    It bothers me when Thom Hartmann (a committed Liberal Democrat) says on his radio show that he uses Uber.
    As informed as he is, he should be aware of that operation's labor abuses.
    I can imagine that guy crossing a picket line. 8-(

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]