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Investors Train Their Focus on Ride-Sharing Companies Uber and Lyft

John Harrington

Published: September 15, 2017 10:20 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 8:08 am

Investors are focusing on Uber and Lyft, the two companies that are powering the ride-sharing industry.

A Wall Street Journal story on Thursday said the Japanese company Softbank is weighing an investment in Uber that would put its stake as large as 22%. The story said Softbank is apparently ready to spend $10 billion on the deal. Uber’s current valuation is about $68 billion.

Softbank already has invested in other ride-hailing firms, such as Didi Chuxing and Ola, the dominant players in China and India, respectively. It most recently put money into Grab, a key Uber rival in Southeast Asia, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reports Google parent Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has held recent conversations with about a possible investment, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg said Lyft might get an investment of about $1 billion from Google or CapitalG, Alphabet’s private-equity arm. Alphabet and Lyft declined to comment.

Alphabet is also an Uber shareholder through its GV venture capital arm.

Lyft held informal talks with Alphabet and other potential acquirers last year but didn’t pursue a sale.

The possible funding initiatives come as Uber tries to rebound from a series of scandals that ultimately led to the resignation of company founder Travis Kalanick in June. Dara Khosrowshahi, the former Expedia chief executive officer, took over as Uber’s new CEO last week. Uber also is trying to fend off Lyft, which has gained market share this year.