SoftBank Group Corp.'s deal to invest $8.8 billion in Uber Technologies Inc. as the biggest entity in a consortium was closed on Thursday. The ride-hailing giant told the media it achieved "a great outcome" with Japan's online industry giant, Dragoneer Investment Group and other participants. The transaction, the startup has said, values it at $48 billion if the discount is included in the calculation, after earlier it reached almost $70 billion. However, $1.25 billion was reportedly injected in a stock class at full capitalization.
Rajeev Misra, a board director in SoftBank, which became the biggest shareholder with 15%, was quoted by the Financial Times as saying that the San Francisco–based company should concentrate on profitability in the core markets: the United States, Europe, Latin America and Australia. It should exit countries where it suffered losses, he added and revealed the Uber Eats food delivery business should be overhauled.
Travis Kalanick, Uber's former chief executive, may have received $1.4 billion for a part of his stake, according to earlier unconfirmed information obtained by CNBC.
