Uber could be valued as high as $120 billion if the ride-hailing company goes public, as expected, in 2019 – despite being permanently in the red. Major US banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have made valuation proposals to Uber, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal this week. This means the initial public offering (IPO) could be one of the largest in history – and Uber has yet to record a full-year profit. If the figure is correct, it would mean that Uber is worth more than three of the
October 17, 2018
Read time: 2 mins
8336 Uber could be valued as high as $120 billion if the ride-hailing company goes public, as expected, in 2019 – despite being permanently in the red.
Major US banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have made valuation proposals to Uber, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal this week. This means the initial public offering (IPO) could be one of the largest in history – and Uber has yet to record a full-year profit.
If the figure is correct, it would mean that Uber is worth more than three of the world’s biggest car manufacturers – General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler – combined, according to Reuters. Uber was valued far lower two months ago, at just $76 billion.
Reuters Breakingviews columnist Robert Cyran %$Linker: 2External<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary />000link-external saysReuters website linkfalsehttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-ipo/uber-ipo-proposals-value-company-at-120-billion-wsj-idUSKCN1MQ1N8falsefalse%>: “So long as investors only care about growth, Uber’s going to do just fine because they’ve got various businesses: for instance, they’ve gotten into electric bikes rental, they’ve gotten into the delivery of food, you know they’ve talked about getting into air taxis. But as long as they can grow this fast, investors are all focused on the possibilities. And they think: ‘Well, you know, who cares about the losses today? At some point Uber’s going to be able to grow so much it will just throw off profits’.”
The European Court of Justice has ruled against Uber, concluding it to be a transport service, which will require it to have stricter regulation and licensing as a taxi operator within the EU. The decision follows a challenge presented by taxi drivers in Barcelona who were seeking a declaration from a court in 2014 that activities of Uber Systems Spain, amounted to misleading practices and acts of unfair competition.
Not content with ride-hailing and food delivery, Uber has branched into the employment market.
The company has launched its Uber Works platform in Chicago, a service which aims to connect workers with businesses that need to fill available shifts.
In a blog post, Uber says the app makes it easier to find and claim a shift “for positions as diverse as being a prep cook, warehouse worker, a commercial cleaner or event staff”.
The app also includes information about gross pay, work location and skills, re
Key players in the transport sector will debate the challenges faced by local authorities worldwide from new digitised platforms such as Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in a dedicated session at ITS International’s 2019 MaaS Market Conference in London this March.
Taxi-hailing apps have already demonstrated the disruptive nature of new digitised transport services. As a result, some local authorities have struggled to retain control over issues such as traffic management and the vetting of taxi drivers and
Business life may be about to get trickier for transportation network companies following the passing of a new law in California which aims to give gig economy workers more rights.
Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), which is due to come into effect in January next year, says that “a person providing labour or services for remuneration shall be considered an employee rather than an independent contractor” - unless three points are proved.
One, that “the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the con