SoftBank could still back out of its massive investment in Uber - and invest in Lyft instead
- SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said it's "wholly possible" SoftBank could back out of its multibillion-dollar investment in Uber at the last minute.
- The deal would give SoftBank as much as a 17% stake in Uber.
- SoftBank may choose to invest in Uber's rival Lyft instead.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son says it's "wholly possible" Uber may lose out on a big investment from SoftBank to its chief rival, Lyft.
During a press conference Monday, Son discussed the company's possible multibillion-dollar investment with Uber. According to a report from Bloomberg, Son suggested that Softbank could still back out of the investment in Uber at the last minute to invest in its chief rival, Lyft, instead.
"Depending on the price and conditions, it is wholly possible we could shift our investment to the other main company Lyft. It is wholly possible," Son said, according to Bloomberg. "We won't know until the very end."
Through its $93 billion Vision Fund, Softbank is in talks with Uber about a massive, multibillion-dollar deal that would give Softbank as much as a 17% stake in Uber.
Uber's board of directors voted last month to move forward with the Softbank negotiations as part of a bargain to settle the internal battle that has wracked the ride-hailing company for months, with the goal of paving the way to an IPO in two years.
In mid-October, Uber board member Arianna Huffington said at the WSJD conference that the investment would be finalized "very likely in the next week," and that Uber was still waiting on "what is going to transpire with the price."