Uber nears investment deal for self-driving car unit: WSJ

Uber Technologies Inc is nearing a deal with a group, including SoftBank Group Corp, to invest in its self-driving car unit to be valued at USD 7.25 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 17, citing people familiar with the matter.

SoftBank, Toyota Motor Corp and Japanese auto-parts supplier Denso Corp are expected to invest a total of USD 1 billion as part of the deal, which could be announced in the next few days, the report said.

SoftBank closed its USD 8 billion investment in Uber in January 2018, which gave it a 16 per cent stake in the ride-hailing company and made it the largest shareholder.

The Japanese technology investment fund also has investments in General Motors Co’s self-driving car subsidiary Cruise. SoftBank and automaker Honda Motor Co have invested a total of USD 5 billion for acquiring separate minority stakes in Cruise.

Cruise has a value of more than USD 14 billion despite no significant revenue and a product not ready for commercial launch.

Uber is getting ready for its initial public offering (IPO) and filed for it last week.

Toyota and Denso declined to comment, while Uber and SoftBank did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.