Uber’s valuation is approaching the level of General Motors and Ford combined, but still has a long way to go to catch Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ net worth.
2 min read
This story originally appeared on Business Insider
Uber priced its initial public offering at $45 a share on Thursday evening, giving it a valuation of $75.5 billion.
At that valuation, Uber is worth almost as much as Ford and General Motors combined. It will also have a valuation just above Goldman Sachs and be significantly larger than the electric-car maker Tesla.
It is almost five times as valuable as rival ride-hailing company Lyft. Uber, however, will have to rise significantly to eclipse the personal net worth of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, which sits at $112 billion.
While Uber is huge, its valuation has dropped sharply from the $120 billion figure that was floated in October. Lyft’s rocky start has hung over Uber’s long-awaited New York Stock Exchange debut.
Image credit: Markets Insider
Lyft went public on March 29, and over the following six weeks have slid 23%. According to its filing prospectus, Lyft commands 39% of the US ride-hailing market while Uber holds 59%. Both companies record significant losses, with Uber losing $370 million on sales of $11.3 billion in 2018.
Demand for the Uber shares was robust, with all 180 million on offer accounted for within days of the beginning of its IPO road show, according to a report from Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The company raised $8.1 billion in through its IPO process.
Despite the lowered valuation, early Uber investors will record significant gains on their investments. Co-founder Garrett Camp will have a stake worth over $4.5 billion.
Former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick’s stake is worth nearly $6.5 billion after he sold $1.4 billion worth of shares when he departed the company in January 2018 amid a series of scandals.
Prominent investor Softbank will also realize a significant gain, having purchased a 16% stake back in early 2018. At Friday’s valuation, SoftBank’s holdings will be worth over $12 billion, up from its original investment of $8.4 billion.
