Uber ex-CEO Kalanick to sell one third stake in company

Uber Technologies Inc co-founder Travis Kalanick, who was ousted as chief executive in June, will sell nearly a third of his shares in the ride-services company for about $1.4 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Kalanick’s sale is part of a deal with a group of investors led by SoftBank Group Corp, which is taking a 17.5 per cent stake in Uber, mostly by buying shares from early investors and employees. SoftBank last week secured agreements from shareholders who were willing to sell, and the deal will close early this year, Uber said.

Kalanick had offered to sell half of his total shares, but because there was a limit on how much SoftBank will buy, he will sell just 29 per cent, according to the source. Other investors also did not get to unload as many shares as they had hoped because of such widespread interest to sell, according to a Reuters report.

A spokesman for Kalanick declined to comment. SoftBank could not be reached for comment.

Kalanick’s share sale will earn him about $1.4 billion, the source added. The former Uber CEO is still on the board of directors.

The SoftBank deal values Uber at $48 billion, about a 30 per cent discount from its most recent valuation of $68 billion. However, the investor consortium is also making a $1.25 billion investment of fresh funding at the older, higher valuation.