 agreed to buy part of Uber in a $9.3 billion (£6.7 billion) deal, Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick wil){kind=link}
After Japan’s Softbank (TYO: 9984) agreed to buy part of Uber in a $9.3 billion (£6.7 billion) deal, Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick will become a billionaire.
It has been widely reported that Kalanick has sold $1.4 billion worth of stocks.
Remaining a director at the company, the former Uber boss stepped down as chief executive in June following a string of scandals relating to Uber.
Kalanick was associated with a sense of ruthlessness and macho behaviour – leading to a questionable culture within Uber.
A series of scandals about sexual harassment, macho culture and the departure of senior executives led to Kalanick apologies several times over the space of a few months.
Afer a video emerged of Uber co-founder swearing at a driver, he said he was “ashamed” of his behaviour and accepted that he needed “leadership help”.
Uber has said the deal with Softbank is a “great outcome for our shareholders, employees and customers, strengthening Uber’s governance as we double down on our technology investments and continue to bring our services to more people in more places around the world”.
Softbank director Rajeev Misra said: “Uber has a very bright future under its new leadership.”
While the car-hailing company continues to experience steep losses, Softbank is making some high-profile technology investments and hoping to reverse Uber’s losses.
Kalanick will get $1.4 billion from the deal. According to Bloomberg, his estimated fortune is a total of $4.74 billion.