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Softbank chief executive confirms Japan firm's interest in Uber and Lyft investment

Published: 11:57 07 Aug 2017 BST

Travis Kalanick
Uber has reportedly approached five female executives to replace Travis Kalanick as CEO

Softbank is considering investing in  Uber and its rival Lyft, the Japanese firm’s chief executive Masayoshi Son has revealed.  

Son confirmed rumours that Softbank was interested in Uber, saying the company is keen to hold discussions with the car-booking service.

“We are also interested in discussing with Lyft,” he told reporters and analysts during a presentation of the company’s quarterly earnings.  

“We have not decided which way but the US is a very big market and is the most important market. So we are definitely very much interested in the US market.”

Softbank already holds a stake in Lyft, along with a number of its rivals including India’s Ola, Brazil’s 99, Southeast Asia’s Grab and China’s Didi Chuxing.

Son added: “Whether we decide to partner and invest into Uber or Lyft, I don’t know what would be the end result, but we are definitely interested in and we are interested in exploring the idea and we would like to discuss with both companies.”

The news of a potential investment in Uber follows a string of scandals at the company, including a lawsuit with Google’s self-driving unit Waymo over alleged data theft, and sexual harassment claims.

Uber founder Travis Kalanick stepped down as chief executive in June following pressure from a group of investors. The board has reportedly approached at least five female candidates to replace Kalanick in an effort to repair its image following reports of sexism within the group.

Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, YouTube’s Susan Wojcicki, General Motors’ Mary Barra, EasyJet’s Carolyn McCall, and HP's Meg Whitman were approached but rejected offers from Uber, The Washington Post reported. 

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