Softbank buys 14% of Uber for $10 billion

"We've entered into an agreement with the consortium led by SoftBank and Dragoneer [of San Francisco] on a potential investment, a statement from Uber said".

The agreement lets SoftBank and other firms invest up to $1 billion in Uber and proceed with a tender offer in coming weeks to buy up to $9 billion in shares from existing investors. Uber now is valued at $68.5 billion, but stock offers will be based on a lower valuation, so it's unknown just how much the total multibillion-dollar deal will be worth, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because details were not released. Under the deal, the company's initial public offering (IPO) will take place before the end of 2019.

The move was unveiled shortly after reports emerged that its former CEO Travis Kalanick and an influential investor had buried the hatchet, paving the ways for the acquisition.

Benchmark brought legal action in an attempt to rid the board of his influence, but both sides have agreed to the Softbank sale.

According to Fortune, Kalanick, who still controls three board seats, including his own. Uber investor Benchmark agreed to drop its fraud lawsuit against Kalanick if the Softbank deal goes through.

Softbank is a major Japanese conglomerate which has made a habit of investing in tech firms in Silicon Valley, with the likes of Slack and WeWork already on the receiving end of major investments from the company, which also bought United Kingdom chipmaker ARM Holdings. Should current Uber investors decide that Softbank's buyout offer isn't tempting enough for them to sell up, it would seem that Kalanick will be back on the hook.

But it was threatened by conflict between Kalanick and Benchmark.

Meanwhile, SoftBank has been diversifying through investment for several years, and has ventured into sectors outside its core mobile technology business - completing deals with the likes of French robotics firm Aldebaran and e-commerce with Chinese giant Alibaba.