Uber CEO Hopes IPO Will Solve Its Saudi Arabia Investor Problem
Photo Credit: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spoke about the Saudi investment in Uber at the Expedia Explore '18 conference in Las Vegas December 6, 2018. Expedia Group / Adam Shane Productions
Skift Take
Uber needs to shed its Saudi Arabia investment as long as Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman remains in power, and the country bombs innocents in Yemen. Uber's leaders know they have to do this, but how they dump their Saudi investment and the extent of the divorce remain to be seen.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was talking about his hopes for an initial public offering in 2019, but gave no hint that the ridesharing company and food delivery service had already confidentially filed its paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Khosrowshahi made his remarks on stage at the Expedia Explore '18 conference in Las Vegas Thursday, and Bloomberg reported the next day that Uber, as did rival Lyft, had confidentially uploaded its IPO filing to the commission "this week." Khosrowshahi may have been precluded from discussing the submission.
The Uber initial public offering, though, figured into a discussion about the Saudi Arabia government's extensive ties to Google.
Recode co-founder Kara Swisher asked Khosrowshahi on stage about the issue of Saudi Arabia murdering Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi given the government's large investment in Uber. The Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund took about a o
