Just under two months after resigning from Uber, former CEO Travis Kalanick has reportedly asked some former colleagues if they would support him in a potential shareholder battle, according to a new report by The Information.
You’ll periodically find these kinds of proxy fights happening at public companies, but after his ouster, it appears that Kalanick still may want to try to gain back some control at Uber. The Information reports that Kalanick isn’t currently pursuing a shareholder battle. This comes amid reports that Softbank is looking to invest in the company, as well as purchase shares from existing shareholders.
The fresh drama and instigation from Kalanick are probably not going to help things at the company, which has a number of empty slots at the top of the company that it’s looking to fill. Any kind of internal bickering could end up pushing away potential candidates, especially if Kalanick is really looking to return to some kind of operational role at the company.
Kalanick’s departure followed a number of significant scandals within the company, including a lawsuit between Waymo and Otto, the autonomous trucking company it acquired. Uber also began an internal investigation over issues with sexism inside the company led by former Attorney General Eric Holder. Uber adopted all 10 recommendations resulting from the investigation in June.
Another juicy detail in The Information story is that the Uber board was asked by executives not to contact Uber employees for information or assistance without approval from the board. Still, in June, Recode reported that Uber employees were circulating a petition internally asking the board to allow Kalanick to stay at the company.
Uber declined to comment for this story.
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