SoftBank Buys Major Stake in Uber

Uber will sell a large stake to the Japanese tech investing firm SoftBank, The New York Times reports. Uber will offload at least 14 percent of the company at approximately $33 per share in the deal, which comes after more than a year of rumors of a SoftBank investment. The investment brings Uber’s valuation to approximately $48 billion. That figure is significantly lower than Uber’s peak valuation, which hit $70 billion in summer 2016. Since then, the ride-hailing startup has been beset with bad publicity, including sexual harassment scandals and a power struggle after the resignation of besieged CEO Travis Kalanick. The SoftBank investment could help the company present a more stable image as it attempts to go public by 2019.