Uber backers facing head-on collision with greed

Hong Kong

UBER'S early backers are on a collision course with their own greed. Japan's SoftBank and allied investors want to buy roughly one-sixth of the bumptious ride-hailing firm.

Existing owners can sell at a US$48 billion valuation, or about 30 per cent below the last one. Even with a markdown, they could make many times their money. The promise of more, however risky, will cloud the thinking.

Consider just one of the many rounds of funds raised under now-deposed co-founder Travis Kalanick. A so-called Series B investment in 2011 judged Uber …