Uber Freight division may become a standalone company in strategic move

A spinoff of Uber Freight via an IPO or sale is under consideration, according to Bloomberg 

Bloomberg suggests that Uber could spin off or sell Uber Freight. Despite receiving over $1 billion in outside investments and acquiring Transplace, Uber Freight's EBITDA was negative in the fourth quarter of 2022, whereas it was positive in the second quarter. In Q4 2022, Uber Freight's revenue decreased 43% year-over-year to $7 billion. If Uber Freight is spun off, an initial public offering is a likely outcome, making it the first publicly traded digital brokerage firm. J.B. Hunt segments its digital brokerage product's revenue within Integrated Capacity Solutions.

According to Post, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, if Uber Freight were to be sold, it would likely fetch about 1x estimated 2024 revenue, or approximately $7.85 billion. He also estimated that Uber Freight's EBITDA would be $139 million this year. Post stated that a potential sale of Freight would not be unexpected given management's pragmatic view of Uber's assets.

Regarding valuations, Post cited recent valuation comparisons with a number of companies, but some of these comparisons were only tenuous. Uber Freight's business model is significantly dissimilar to those of Werner and Knight-Fast. Werner and Knight-Swift are truckload carriers with brokerage divisions, whereas Uber Freight is a digital brokerage with no physical assets. Post also compared J.B. Hunt and C.H. Robinson, noting that J.B. Hunt has a significant digital brokerage technology offering, whereas Robinson is the largest broker in the country.

Uber Freight recently reduced its workforce by 3%, or approximately 150 positions, with all of the layoffs occurring in the brokerage division and not in the legacy Transplace business. Uber Freight's value on Uber's books is uncertain due to two substantial investments made in recent years. Greenbriar Equity Group invested $500 million in Uber Freight in October 2020, valuing the company at $3.3 billion at the time. Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, D1 Capital, and GCM Grosvenor invested an additional $550 million in Uber Freight in November 2021, which helped provide the capital necessary to close the Transplace acquisition.

MintN