Toyota's Annual Governance Reports Reveals That it Holds a $293 Million Stake In Uber

resource from: Reuters   

Toyota's latest corporate governance report was released on Wednesday and it revealed that the automaker holds a $293 million stake in ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc.

Toyota said it held 10.25 million shares valued at 31.15 billion yen ($292.46 million) as of March 30. This amounts to roughly 0.6% of Uber's outstanding shares, Reuters reports.

Toyota made several other high-profile investments in Uber over the past several years.

In August 2018, Toyota invested $500 million in Uber to jointly work on development of self-driving vehicles. Uber planned to incorporate Toyota's Guardian driver assist technology with Uber's self-driving system. Uber planned to add the autonomous vehicles to its ride-hailing network by 2021.

Two years earlier In 2016, Toyota invested an undisclosed sum in Uber to partner on a car-leasing program for Uber drivers. However Uber announced in Sept 2017 that it was shuttering its U.S. car leasing business.

Like Toyota, Uber has been developing autonomous driving technology since at least 2016 with its Advanced Technologies Group (Uber ATG). Uber eventually plans to add self-driving vehicles to its ride-hailing network and its partnership with Toyota is part of that effort. 

Uber became a listed company in May 2019, pricing its shares at $45. The IPO was one of the biggest in recent years. At Uber's IPO price of $45 per share, the company was valued on a non-diluted basis at about $75.4 billion, making it one of the most valuable companies ever to go public.

However, Uber shares never rose above $46.38 as the company struggled to reach profitability in its ride-hailing business. When the coronavirus pandemic began in March in the U.S., the company's shares fell to a low of $21.33 as demand for ride-sharing business suddenly declined.

Toyota, one of the world's biggest automakers and holds investments in a variety of industries. The company said it had reduced its shareholdings in 24 companies and increased them in 10, including two listed companies.

"If Toyota determines a shareholding is no longer meaningful or the meaning of a shareholding has been diluted due to changes in business environment or other reasons, (it) will proceed with the sale of such shares," Toyota said in the report.

Toyota currently has an interest in 174 firms, including 65 listed companies, compared with 200 firms in 2015, of which 80 were listed companies, according to Reuters.

In January, Toyota announced a $394 million investment in California aviation startup Joby Aviation. The company is developing vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft designed to carry passengers. 

Uber is also working on VTOL aircraft as part of its aerial ride-sharing business Uber Air. The first flights are scheduled for 2023.

resource from: Reuters

Derrick Smith