UPDATED 23:14 EDT / AUGUST 21 2016

NEWS

Report: Lyft approached Apple, Google, Amazon, GM, Uber and Didi Chuxing to buy it without success

Ridesharing service provider Lyft, Inc. unsuccessfully approached a number of high profile companies in an attempt to sell itself, according to a report published Saturday.

The New York Times claims that the company approached General Motors Corp., Apple, Inc., Google, Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Uber, Inc., and Didi Chuxing Technology Co. as potential acquirers but beyond talks none made a formal offer to acquire the business; the news follows a report last week that suggested that Lyft had rejected an offer from General Motors although the new report suggests that GM never actually made a formal offer.

Lyft is said to have failed to find a buyer due to the cost being demanded which according to Recode was “as much as” $9 billion, well up on its $5.5 billion valuation as of its last round.

According to the Times report, Lyft will continue as a stand-alone company and is in no risk of collapsing as it currently has $1.4 billion in the bank, part of which was raised when General Motors invested $500 million in the company back in January.

Suggestions that Lyft was trying to find a buyer first emerged in June when it was revealed that the company had hired Qatalyst Partners LP, a boutique investment bank known for helping tech companies find a buyer.

Too late?

The seemingly frantic attempts by Lyft to sell itself come at a time the company faces the possibility of a new battle in the ridesharing wars against bigger rival Uber.

Uber is fresh off selling its China business to Didi Chuxing, a deal that included Didi investing $1 billion into Uber itself, giving the market leader even more cash in the bank to subsidize operations in the United States in an effort to get Lyft customers to change their ride.

The deal between Uber and Didi Chuxing will also seemingly see the end of the global alliance between Didi, Lyft, Grab and Ola announced in December that allowed customers from each company to user services from the other when they are traveling as an alternative to Uber; although it hasn’t been officially dissolved yet the silence from Lyft outside of a statement saying that they were considering their position suggests that it’s as good as dead in the water.

While the Times is right to point out that Lyft has money in the bank and is in no risk of going under anytime soon the problem remains that it has significantly less money in the bank than Uber and that although $1.4 billion may seem like a staggering sum it’s not enough in a theoretical hardcore war of attrition.

It may not be too late for Lyft to find a white knight to save the day, but clearly they are aware that their situation going forward may eventually become precarious as they would not be trying to find someone to acquire them otherwise.

Image credit: vathis/Flickr/CC by 2.0

 


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