The Information did not give a price that GM was willing to pay to acquire Lyft, but GM did pay $500 million for a 9 percent stake in Lyft at the beginning of the year, valuing the company at $5.5 billion. It was also not clear which company started the acquisition talks, according to The Information.
GM President Dan Ammann also sits on Lyft’s board of directors.
GM’s interest in Lyft means that the company is serious about increasing investment in ridesharing, as GM would have had to invest a great deal in Lyft in order to elevate it in its battle with Uber.
Lyft is Uber’s largest U.S. competitor, but Uber controls a much larger share of the ridesharing pie in America and has raised about $13 million in equity and debt funding. Uber also reportedly has about $9 billion in cash on hand, while Lyft has about $1.4 billion in cash.
According to a recent update it provided to investors, Lyft expects to generate more than $400 million in net revenue in 2016.
Advertisement: Scroll to Continue
A GM spokesman declined comment on the acquisition rumor.
A Lyft spokesman told The Information: “We have nothing new to announce today. We remain focused on growing Lyft in the U.S. and working hard to provide the best experience for our passengers and drivers.”
Might want to keep an eye out for future funding rounds for Lyft now that it seems to have decided to remain an independent company (at least for the time being).
