Lyft CEO says company ‘open to offers’, but not pursuing a sale

LYFT isn’t actively pursuing a sale but would be open to offers, chief executive officer (CEO) David Risher said in an interview on Bloomberg Television, appearing to soften his view from earlier this year about a potential transaction.

In response to a question on Friday (May 12) during the interview about whether the company was open to an acquisition, Risher said, “If someone calls, a public company has to be.”

The CEO added that while Lyft was “not on the block”, the ride-hailing company would be “open to offers”, though he stopped short of saying it had received interest.

Risher’s comments are a reversal from the stance he took in March after his appointment as CEO was announced when he dashed speculation that the company might be headed for the auction block.

Risher, a former Amazon.com executive, took the helm Apr 17, replacing co-founder Logan Green. In that short time, Risher has moved quickly to cut 1,072 jobs, or 26 per cent of the workforce, in an effort to achieve profitability and compete with bigger cross-town rival Uber Technologies. He also has called staff back to the office at least three days a week, a stark turnaround from a “fully flexible” work policy implemented last year. BLOOMBERG