General Motors Co. bought out the SoftBank Vision Fund 1’s stake in self-driving startup Cruise LLC for $2.1 billion, ending the Japanese investment firm’s involvement in the business and giving the Detroit automaker 80% ownership.
GM also said Friday it will invest another $1.35 billion in Cruise, which makes up for the amount that SoftBank had pledged to invest in the startup once the company deploys vehicles in a ride-sharing business, something it is preparing to do.
The deal consolidates GM’s ownership and control over Cruise, and reverses a capital diversification play by former Chief Executive Officer Dan Ammann, who was fired in December after pushing for an initial public offering. GM CEO Mary Barra and Cruise founder Kyle Vogt, who replaced Ammann as CEO, have said an IPO isn’t in the offing at this time and likely won’t be anytime soon.
