Uber Is No Longer The World’s Most Valuable Startup

One month ago, we reported that in a disappointing – if inevitable – development for what was at the time the world’s most valuable startup, SoftBank and a group of investors would offer to buy shares in Uber at a price that would value the ride-hailing company at 30% less than its most recent $69 billion valuation. This confirmed our own speculation made earlier in the summer, that scandal-plagued Uber’s next round of financing would see as much as a 40% discount.
Earlier today, Uber’s first ever down round became a reality when the WSJ reported that Uber shareholders had agreed to sell a roughly 20% stake in the ride-hailing company, or roughly $10 billion, to the previously noted SoftBank-led investor group, which allowed the Japanese conglomerate to amass a piece of the company at a steep discount to the last valuation.
According to the WSJ, -SoftBank would take a roughly 15% stake in Uber through the tender offer, which values the private company at $48 billion, or roughly a 30% discount to its most recent valuation of just under $70 billion, while other members of SoftBank’s bidding group are likely to buy part of the remaining shares on offer. The tender offer, an opportunity for Uber’s employees and investors to sell their shares in the privately held company, expired at noon Pacific Time on Thursday.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Thu, 12/28/2017 –.