The New York Times :
Uber is in advanced discussions to sell its food-delivery business in India, according to two people with knowledge of the plans, as the company moves to stem its losses.
The ride-hailing company is nearing a deal to sell its Uber Eats service in India to Zomato, an Indian food-delivery service, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to do so publicly. The sale could be announced as early as this week, they said.
A spokesman for Uber declined to comment. The talks were reported earlier by TechCrunch, which said a deal would value the India business of Uber Eats at $400 million. Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive, has been trying to pare back money-losing businesses to prove to investors that the company can turn a profit. Investors have agitated both in public and behind the scenes for Uber to clean up its balance sheet since it went public earlier this year.
Uber’s initial public offering in May was a disappointment, with the company’s shares immediately plunging as investors questioned how much money the ride-hailing service loses. That event marked a turn in sentiment around high-profile-but-unprofitable tech startups, many of which had burned cash for years in the pursuit of growth. WeWork, another highly valued startup, later shelved its plans for an IPO as private investors cut the company’s valuation to a fraction of its former worth.
Investors have recently homed in on several issues at Uber, according to two people briefed on the conversations. Those include continued regulatory challenges around the world – most recently, transportation authorities said they would not extend Uber’s taxi license in London, one of its biggest markets – and ballooning expenditures.
