Toss A Coin For Uber’s New Valuation

Morning Report: What is Uber worth?

What’s Uber worth? There’s a bit of disagreement. The Crunchbase Unicorn Leaderboard says $62.5 billion. Bloomberg pegged the company at $69 billion in March of 2017. But MarketWatch thought it was $68 billion in November of that year.

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It’s harder to value Uber than most private technology companies. This is because its funding became increasingly exotic as it grew. It’s also worth mentioning that private companies are inherently less liquid than public shops, making Uber’s IPO reticence component to its valuation muddle.

And now, in the wake of the SoftBank deal, the company’s valuation has perhaps shifted once again. As we well know, the done deal includes a huge chunk of secondary at a valuation of roughly $48 billion. And a small amount (comparatively) of primary at the prior $68 billion valuation (using the number reported in Fortune’s Term Sheet this morning).

So what is the firm worth? The $69 to $70 billion post-money valuation that the primary transaction implies, or the $48 billion figure set by the far larger, secondary sale? (This parlor game has sparked jokes.)

I think it will end up depending on who you ask until the firm is formally repriced through an IPO or new capital injection. Until then, Uber partisans will likely hold fast to the $69 to $70 billion number, while Uber’s various detractors will stamp about holding signs that read “$48 billion.”

And they won’t find much middle ground until a third-party comes in and reprices their lucky strike and bogeyman, respectively.

So for now, you can pick your number and still annoy half your friends. Which half, of course, you can leave to chance by just flipping a coin. Good luck!

From The Crunchbase Daily:

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• SoftBank is reportedly buying a roughly 20 percent stake in Uber from its existing shareholders at a $48 billion valuation. That’s way down from the $68 billion valuation Uber secured in a recent financing round.

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