SoftBank’s plans to invest up to $10bn Uber have come up against a potential obstruction as major shareholders in the ride-hailing service threaten to maintain their rights to first refusal and delay the deal.
Uber’s major shareholders including Benchmark have declined to waive their rights of first refusal over the upcoming tender offer, a move that has annoyed and confused the buyers involved, according to four people close to the talks.
Under the terms of the deal, SoftBank and other investors would spend $1bn to $1.25bn to buy new shares in Uber at a valuation of around $68bn, and also buy a larger tranche of secondary shares from existing shareholders at a lower price, likely to be between $45bn and $50bn.
