SoftBank completed its $9.3 billion transaction with Uber, making it the largest shareholder in the company and returning handsome profits to early investors, as well as making Travis Kalanick a billionaire. The cost: Uber must turn its focus to the United States, Europe, Latin American countries, and Australia to become profitable.
The Financial Times reports that Rajeev Misra, Softbank’s Uber board member, said Uber can be profitable with a focus outside Asia, where SoftBank has investments in several mobility companies, including Ola and Didi Chuxing. In a pricelessly SoftBankian phrase, Misra said of Uber’s potential: “Who cares if they lost a billion more or half a billion less?”
On closing, SoftBank comes away with 15 percent of Uber for its money.