Uber Technologies
Ever since the prohibition on selling Uber stock expired on November 8, Kalanick has sold off 90% of his considerable stake in Uber, with sales totaling $2.5 billion in stock so far. Kalanick's 8.2 million remaining shares in Uber is valued at $250 million. Kalanick was joined by fellow co-founder Garret Camp in selling off Uber stock, though Camp only sold off $51 million worth of stock so far.
Kalanick's move has received mixed reactions so far, with some viewing it as a vote of no confidence in Uber. This could raise questions as to his future as a member of Uber's Board if his move is interpreted as such by management within the company; Kalanick and other members of the Board of Directors are up for re-election in May of 2020, and Kalanick's move may affect the decisions made by the company's shareholders.
Another speculation surrounding Kalanick's decision revolves around his current project, the startup CloudKitchens, which has been acquiring real estate around the world as part of a venture to rent out kitchen space to restaurants and delivery services. Kalanick's move may be a gambit to raise funds for CloudKitchens as he looks to expand operations worldwide.
Even if Kalanick is looking to offload stock in the company as a move of no-confidence, it isn't an entirely unprecedented given the rough history of Uber since its IPO earlier this year. At Q3, Uber had reported losses topping $1 billion and was struggling to articulate its plans to achieve profitability in the face of investor scrutiny and a declining stock price. Uber has also experienced issues with local and international government bodies; recently, Uber was fined by the State of New Jersey for millions of dollars' worth of unpaid taxes after misclassifying its workers. Internationally, Uber has been met with issues in England and Germany.
- https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/22/uber-co-founder-travis-kalanick-is-on-pace-to-sell-his-entire-stake.html
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uber-co-founder-sells-another-080220434.html
- https://wccftech.com/uber-founders-1-billion/
- https://www.ft.com/content/6f3fa7e6-2291-11ea-b8a1-584213ee7b2b
- https://www.pws.io/uber-falling-under-increasing-scrutiny
- https://www.pws.io/uber-to-pay-649-million-in-unpaid-taxes