Ex-Uber CEO Kalanick Offloads $540M In Co Stock

Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber who was ousted from the ridesharing company after a series of scandals, has offloaded about $500 million of Uber stock as a six-month lock-up period ended on Nov. 6, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Kalanick had already sold about $1.4 billion worth of Uber stock to SoftBank-led investors last year, and a smaller amount during the company’s IPO in May.

Uber shares have about a third of their IPO value, and news of the sale saw a decline of another 2 percent. The stock opened at $26.47, in contrast to its original price of $45.

In a series of trades, Kalanick got rid of $540 million in Uber shares, according to a filing released on Monday (Nov. 11). The amount sold equals about a fifth of his remaining shares in the company. The move is part of a Rule 10b5-1 plan, which lets insiders sell stock inside of a predetermined time and price to make sure no one is using insider information to help themselves.

Kalanick is still on Uber’s board and has a remaining stake of about 4.5 percent, making him one of the biggest individual shareholders. His remaining shares are worth about $75 million.

Kalanick has been funneling money into his new business, called CloudKitchens. The startup recently received a $400 million investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). CloudKitchens aims to capitalize on the growing delivery market. The startup buys rundown buildings near city centers and converts them into “ghost” kitchens that restaurants can rent to make food specifically for delivery. CloudKitchens also operates its own delivery-only eateries. The rapidly growing company now has locations in China, India, the U.K. and the U.S.