Legally troubled Uber loss grows to $1.46 billion in third quarter

San-Francisco based Uber has suffered a loss of $1.46 billion in the third quarter, according to the Bloomberg report.

The company witnessed a rise of 11% in gross bookings, which reached $9.71 billion in the period that ended in September. In the second quarter, the total booking was of worth $8.74 billion. Net revenue grew 21 percent to $2.01 billion in the third quarter from $1.66 billion, according to Uber.

However, the losses, which had been narrowing in previous quarters, reversed course. The net loss increased 38 percent from the second quarter, when it was $1.06 billion. Uber has been searching for a chief financial officer to fill a much-needed role ahead of an initial public offering expected in 2019.

The report added that General Atlantic and Russia’s DST Global, which were earlier interested in buying stocks, have dropped out of the deal. Now, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, TPG, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Sequoia Capital are looking to buy at least 13.4 percent of outstanding shares.

“SoftBank and Dragoneer have received indications from Benchmark, Menlo Ventures, and other early investors of their intent to sell shares in the tender offer,” according to a SoftBank spokesperson.

He added that any sales by these shareholders will be pursuant to the same terms and conditions as will be offered to all other eligible holders that participate in the tender offer.

The investor group has offered to pay $32.97 a share in their opening salvo. SoftBank has committed to invest at least another $1 billion in Uber at a higher valuation of $69 billion if the deal goes through. The blended valuation in the full deal would be $54 billion.