Uber's board of directors reached a deal Sunday that will allow SoftBank to make a
multibillion-dollar investment in the ride-hailing startup.
The agreement resolves a legal battle between Uber cofounder and former CEO Travis Kalanick and Benchmark Capital, one of the startup's early investors, Reuters reported Sunday. Benchmark Capital, which owns about 13 percent of Uber, sued Kalanick in August, alleging that Kalanick misled Uber's stockholders to gain control of three board seats.
"We've entered into an agreement with a consortium led by SoftBank and Dragoneer on a potential investment," an Uber representative said in a statement. "We believe this agreement is a strong vote of confidence in Uber's long-term potential. Upon closing, it will help fuel our investments in technology and our continued expansion at home and abroad, while strengthening our corporate governance."
The agreement comes a month after Uber's board voted to eliminate its super-voting structure, in which early shareholders had 10 times the voting power, to a one vote per share model, according to a source familiar with the vote. The board also voted to expand the number of board members to 17, adding six seats to dilute additions made by Kalanick in September. https://www.cnet.com/news/ubers-board-reaches-deal-allowing-10b-softbank-investment/