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What happens if they decide to keep the company private? Travis, the CEO of Uber, has stated many times he feels like going public isn't needed anymore because

What happens if they decide to keep the company private? Travis, the CEO of Uber, has stated many times he feels like going public isn't needed anymore because of all the extreme amounts of capital available in the private market. And, they have found a spigot on the economy that can provide for returns for these private equity investors. So why even go public? To me, this just seems like a well thought out plan to keep employees locked into the company while not allowing them to ever exercise their equity, and keep the return focused on those who have provided capital. The "capital class" if you will. Carry on worker bee employees; one day you might see those options actually worth something and liquid.

adrenalinelol 11y ago
Given Uber's general demeanor towards its drivers this wouldn't surprise me they'd try something like this towards its engineering/business talent.
wdr1 11y ago
> What happens if they decide to keep the company private? The shares can still be sold, but it's limited to qualified investors. The primary issue is that obviously the same information of a public company isn't available & the SEC doesn't want Joe Smith getting scammed by fly-by-night operations. It's also worth noting that once there are a certain number of shareholders, Uber has to publicly disclose its finances. That's even if they don't raise capitol & are not traded on the SEC. Historically this was 500 shareholders, but Facebook got an exception from the SEC. I wouldn't be surprised if Uber did too.
- linkregister 11y ago
  I think you haven't read the article yet. The issue with Uber as opposed to a standard private company is that part of the charter prohibits employees from selling shares on secondary markets or to second party investors. The only viable exit for the employees to exercise their options is for an IPO.

adrenalinelol 11y ago

Given Uber's general demeanor towards its drivers this wouldn't surprise me they'd try something like this towards its engineering/business talent.

wdr1 11y ago

> What happens if they decide to keep the company private? The shares can still be sold, but it's limited to qualified investors. The primary issue is that obviously the same information of a public company isn't available & the SEC doesn't want Joe Smith getting scammed by fly-by-night operations. It's also worth noting that once there are a certain number of shareholders, Uber has to publicly disclose its finances. That's even if they don't raise capitol & are not traded on the SEC. Historically this was 500 shareholders, but Facebook got an exception from the SEC. I wouldn't be surprised if Uber did too.

linkregister 11y ago
I think you haven't read the article yet. The issue with Uber as opposed to a standard private company is that part of the charter prohibits employees from selling shares on secondary markets or to second party investors. The only viable exit for the employees to exercise their options is for an IPO.