SAN FRANCISCO: The ousted chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc. rejected a lawsuit filed against him by one of the company’s top investors as a “public and personal attack” without merit, according to court documents filed late on Thursday.
Venture capital firm Benchmark Capital, which says it owns 13 percent of Uber and controls 20 percent of the voting power, last week sued former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to force him off the board, where he still has a seat, and rescind his remaining power there.
Kalanick, in the first court filing in response to the lawsuit, said Benchmark’s legal action is part of a larger scheme to oust him from the company he helped found and take away power that is rightfully his. He also argued that the legal quarrel should take place in arbitration and that Delaware’s Chancery Court, where the lawsuit was filed, lacks jurisdiction.
Benchmark’s lawsuit marks a rare instance of a well-regarded Silicon Valley investor suing the central figure at one of its own, highly successful startups. The case has stunned the venture capital community and created a divided Uber board and infighting among shareholders, many of whom have criticized Benchmark for suing.
At issue is a change to the board structure in 2016 that expanded the number of voting directors by three, with Kalanick having the sole right to fill those seats.
In its lawsuit, Benchmark said Kalanick hid from the board a number of misdeeds, including allegations of trade-secret theft involving autonomous car technology and misconduct by Kalanick and other executives in handling a rape committed by an Uber driver in India, when he asked Uber’s board to give him those extra seats.
Benchmark said it was “fraudulently induced” to agree to the change and wants Kalanick to give up control of those seats.
But Kalanick’s court filing said that at the time of the board change, “Benchmark was fully aware of all of the allegations involving Kalanick.” The venture firm made no mention of fraud and continued to publicly support Kalanick through May, according to the filing.
Then in June, Benchmark was part of a group of five investors who demanded Kalanick’s resignation as Uber’s CEO.
“The Benchmark principals also handed Kalanick a draft resignation letter, and told him he had hours to sign it, or else Benchmark would start a public campaign against him,” according to the court document.
Benchmark first backed Uber in 2011 with an investment of $12 million. At the $68 billion valuation that Uber achieved last year, Benchmark’s stake would be worth almost $9 billion.
“Resorting to litigation was an extremely difficult step for Benchmark,” Benchmark said in a statement through a spokeswoman. “Failing to act now would mean endorsing behavior that is utterly unacceptable in any company, let alone a company of Uber’s size and importance.”
The lawsuit comes amid discussions by outside investors, including SoftBank Group Corp, to buy a large chunk of Uber stock, although it is unclear if any transaction will occur.
Benchmark’s public effort against Kalanick is largely solitary, with the remaining six members of Uber’s board of directors last week issuing a statement expressing their “disappointment” in the lawsuit.
Uber investor Shervin Pishevar of Sherpa Capital, joined by other shareholders, sent letters to Benchmark calling for the firm to divest its shares and step down from the board.
In an unusual move, Benchmark this week wrote an open letter to Uber employees, saying Kalanick had undermined the CEO search and was seeking to “create a power vacuum in which Travis could return.”
Former Uber CEO says investor lawsuit a ‘public and personal attack’
Former Uber CEO says investor lawsuit a ‘public and personal attack’
UPDATE 5-Trump threatens Canada with 100 percent tariff over pending trade deal with China
- Carney’s China deal aims to reset strained relations
- US-Canada tensions rise over Greenland, global order remarks
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would impose a 100 percent tariff on Canada if it follows through on a trade deal with China and warned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that a deal would endanger his country.
“China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100 percent Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the USA.”
In a video on Saturday, Carney urged Canadians to buy domestic products, but did not directly mention Trump’s tariff threat.
“With our economy under threat from abroad, Canadians have made a choice to focus on what we can control,” Carney said. “We can’t control what other nations do, we can be our own best customer.”
The Canadian prime minister this month traveled to China to reset the countries’ strained relationship and reached a trade deal with Canada’s second-biggest trading partner after the US
Immediately after Carney’s China trip, Trump sounded supportive. “It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House on January 16. “If you can get a deal with China, you should do that.”
“There is no pursuit of a free trade deal with China. What was achieved was resolution on several important tariff issues,” Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-US Trade, said on Saturday in a post on X.
The Chinese embassy in Canada said in a statement to Reuters that China was ready to work with Canada to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries.
US-Canada tensions have grown in recent days following Carney’s criticism of Trump’s pursuit of Greenland.
MORE PRESSURE ON CANADIAN INDUSTRIES
On Saturday, Trump suggested China would try to use Canada to evade US tariffs.
“If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken,” Trump said, using a title for Carney that refers to Trump’s past calls for Canada to become the 51st US state.
In a second Saturday post, Trump said, “The last thing the World needs is to have China take over Canada. It’s NOT going to happen, or even come close to happening!“
If Trump makes good on Saturday’s threat, the new tariff would greatly increase US duties on its northern neighbor, adding pressure to Canadian industrial sectors such as metal manufacturing, autos and machinery.
Relations between Carney and Trump seemed relatively placid until the Canadian leader this week spoke out forcefully against Trump’s pursuit of Greenland.
Carney subsequently at the World Economic Forum called on nations to accept that a rules-based global order was over and pointed to Canada as an example of how “middle powers” might act together to avoid being victimized by American hegemony.
Carney, during his speech in Davos, Switzerland, did not directly call out Trump or the US by name. However, the prime minister said “middle powers must act together because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.”
Many world leaders and industry titans present at the Switzerland confab responded with a standing ovation.
Trump shot back in his own Davos speech and said Canada “lives because of the United States,” a statement that Carney rejected on Thursday.
“Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership in the economy, in security and in rich cultural exchange,” Carney said in Quebec. “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
Since then, Trump has dug in against Canada, revoking its invitation to his Board of Peace that he wants to deal with international conflicts and Gaza’s future.
After Carney’s election last year, Trump and Carney shared a congenial tone. “I think the relationship is going to be very strong,” Trump said at the time.
But Trump this month dismissed the mega trade deal between the US, Canada, and Mexico — up for renegotiation in July — as “irrelevant.”
Trump has issued many tariff threats since returning to the presidency, though in several cases he has paused them during negotiations or relented entirely. This week, Trump backed off his recent threat to impose stiff tariffs on European allies after the NATO chief and other leaders promised to step up security in the Arctic.
“We hope the two governments can come to a better understanding quickly that can alleviate further concerns for businesses who face the immediate consequences of torqued up uncertainty,” the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Matthew Holmes said in a statement.
