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After boasting that he has never sold a share in is company, Uber Technologies Inc’s founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick is reportedly planning to unload 29% of his stake in the taxi-app firm into Softbank’s portfolio.
The deal is largely kept secret, but multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed the rumors to the press.
If the deal is successful, Kalanick will add $1.4 billion to his fortune. The investors who will buy the shares agreed to value to ride-hailing app at $48 billion.
The founder, who now owns 10 percent of the firm, had initially planned to sell half of his stake. He had to trim that number to 29% under an agreement with Softbank and a group of independent buyers.
Uber Boss to Finally Become a Billionaire
Ironically, Kalanick has been to date one of the richest men on the planet but only on paper. After the incoming transaction he would morph into a real billionaire.
In 2017, he was forces to step down as CEO amid a string of scandals and federal investigation into his business policies. Kalanick also entered a feud with one of the firm’s largest investors, Benchmark, which announced it plans to sell its stake too.
Under a recent agreement, sellers are not allowed to sell over 58% of the shares the initially put on the table. This provision barred Kalanick from selling more of his stake.
Uber declined to comment on the revelations.
Another seller is a Google-connected venture capital firm, GV, which plans to sell a smaller part of the stake in Uber, even though Google and its unit that is working on self-driving cars, Waymo, has sued Uber for using its trade secrets taken from a former employee.
The agreement with Softbank is expected to be finalized by the end of this month.
Image Source: Wikimedia
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