Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Uber Term Sheet Offers A Peek At Finances

From Bloomberg: 

Uber Bonds Term Sheet Reveals $470 Million in Operating Losses
Uber Technologies Inc. is telling prospective investors that it generates $470 million in operating losses on $415 million in revenue, according to a document provided to prospective investors.

The term sheet viewed by Bloomberg News, which is being used to sell $1 billion to $1.2 billion in convertible bonds, doesn’t make clear the time period for those results. The document also touts 300 percent year-over-year growth.

The figures show the heavy losses that Uber is accruing as it expands its global car-booking operation amid fierce local competition. Uber is already operating in more than 300 cities worldwide and is raising money at a $50 billion valuation, a person familiar with the situation said last month. Uber is spending aggressively especially in China and as it experiments with its carpooling service uberPOOL.

“These are substantially old numbers that do not reflect business activities today,” Uber spokeswoman Nairi Hourdajian said in an e-mail. Hourdajian declined to say why the numbers are being used to promote a current funding round.

The ride-sharing company co-founded by Travis Kalanick remains fiercely secretive about its financial performance, even with prospective investors.

Hillhouse Capital Management is leading the convertible bond deal, a person with knowledge of the matter said June 23. The bonds can be converted to shares at a discount if Uber goes public.

Bond Terms
Investors in this round will be able to convert the notes at a compounded 11.5 percent discount if the company sells shares on the public market, the document shows....MORE