Uber board set for contentious meeting over ex-CEO’s power
SAN FRANCISCO: The board of Uber Technologies Inc, including two new appointees of former chief executive Travis Kalanick, will meet to consider proposals that diminish the co-founder’s influence, strip early investors of supervoting power and secure a multibilliondollar investment, sources said.
Proponents of the measures believe they can prevail on each issue, despite the addition to the board of two new directors named by Kalanick and a legal threat from early investors, two people familiar with the matter said.
Kalanick, ousted by investors in June, contends that fellow Uber board members are moving too fast on a dramatic restructuring and wants to delay a decision on governance changes, another source said. It is not clear how many measures will be voted on Tuesday.
The proposals are the latest flashpoint between Kalanick and Uber investors spearheaded by Silicon Valley’s Benchmark, which led the board revolt against Kalanick.
Directors are divided about what role Kalanick should play and whether he should retain control over a large part of the board.
The company is seeking to shore up its reputation after a series of scandals.
Proponents believe the proposals would improve corporate governance ahead of an expected initial public offering and illustrate the support of major new investors – SoftBank Group Corp and growthoriented investor Dragoneer Investment Group.
Uber’s new chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, last week proposed cutting the number of board seats controlled by Kalanick to one from three, raising the seats effectively controlled by Khosrowshahi to five from one, and eliminating supervoting rights, which give early shareholders multiple votes per share.
A second proposal, which proponents intend to be linked to the first, would allow internet firm SoftBank and Dragoneer to invest around US$10 billion in Uber, two sources said.
That would include about US$1 billion in new Uber shares at the current US$68 billion valuation, with the rest earmarked for buying shares from current investors at a discount, the sources said.
It is not clear how many shares current investors would sell at the terms discussed.
Kalanick responded to the proposals on Friday by appointing former Xerox chief executive officer Ursula Burns and former Merrill Lynch chief executive officer John Thain to fill two open director seats.
Benchmark and others have legally challenged his ability to name the directors.
Burns and Thain took their seats Monday and will be eligible to vote at Tuesday’s board meeting in San Francisco, three people said. — Reuters