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Uber Ex-CEO Travis Kalanick speaks at a Vanity Fair summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 19, 2016 in San Francisco, California.
SoftBank will complete its long-awaited investment agreement with Uber Thursday, two sources told CNBC, making SoftBank the company’s largest shareholder and providing a huge payday for both co-founder Travis Kalanick and other early backers.
Travis Kalanick, who was ousted as CEO last year after a controversial run, will get $1.4 billion from the deal, making him officially a billionaire.
Uber has said the deal, which was expected to close this month, would value the company at about $48 billion, a haircut from its previous valuation of nearly $70 billion. But the investment will also provide liquidity for early employees, easing tension as the ride-hailing company aims for a 2019 public offering.
SoftBank has become an aggressive investor in Silicon Valley, and will enter Uber’s board as the company recovers from a massive data breach, regulatory scrutiny and a damaging workplace culture report.
The governance changes that accompany the deal also mark a milestone for CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who has now successfully consolidated power at a company that was rife with infighting when he arrived.
SoftBank is an investor Didi Chuxing, the majority owner of Uber’s China operations, and has also backed Grab, a ride-hailing company in Southeast Asia, as well as India’s Ola.
