Uber valued at about $62B in new offer to buy company stock
new york — Three investors are looking to buy stakes in Uber in an offer that values the company at $62 billion. The ride-hailing giant said on Wednesday the investors want to buy up to $600 million worth of the private company’s stock. They’re offering $40 per share, giving Uber a valuation that’s nearly 30 per cent above the $48 billion set in a January stock sale.
The announcement comes as Uber posted a $2.46 billion firstquarter net profit largely due to one-time gains from the sale of businesses in Southeast Asia and Russia. Without the gains, the company still lost money before taxes and depreciation, but the $304 million in red ink was half the amount from a year ago.
Income statements released on Wednesday show Uber’s gross bookings and revenue rose dramatically during the quarter.
In a statement, Uber said that the Coatue Management LLC, Altimeter Capital and TPG investment firms have offered to buy $400 million to $600 million worth of Uber stock. The offer, to be launched next week and last for 20 business days, would allow longtime investors and some employees to convert shares to cash ahead of a planned public stock offering sometime in 2019.
Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. and others closed a deal in January to buy 15 per cent of Uber. The investors, including Dragoneer Investment Group, sank about $9 billion into Uber at roughly $33 per share, including about $1.25 billion in new shares. No new shares will be sold in the latest offer. Eligible sellers will be limited in how many shares they can sell. They can offer 25 per cent of their total shares, or $10 million worth of stock, whichever is of lower value, according to the company.
The stock offer and Uber’s firstquarter numbers point to progress for Uber as it heads toward an initial public stock offering sometime in 2019 that was promised by new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shortly after his arrival last August.
Uber’s gross bookings from ride-hailing and other services rose 55 per cent from a year ago to $11.29 billion. Net revenue, which is gross bookings minus payments to drivers, incentives and promotions, rose 70 per cent to $2.59 billion, the company said. Uber said it will restate and reduce gross bookings retroactively by about 2 per cent due to the way it counts what it considers to be promotional costs. Uber gives each rider a cost estimate for a trip, but the actual cost can be higher or lower depending on road construction, traffic or other factors.