As Apple’s interest in the automotive world increases, it perhaps should come as no surprise that the company earlier this year held talks with Lyft to discuss the prospect of an all-out acquisition. According to a report in The New York Times, Lyft in recent months has been increasingly pro-active about sitting down with potential buyers as the company contemplates the future of its popular ridesharing service.
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Though Lyft’s talks with Apple didn’t materialize into anything, the Times adds that Apple was far from the company’s only option. Over the past few months, representatives from Lyft have either sat down with or made overtures to a formidable list of names from the tech and automotive world, including General Motors, Microsoft, Uber, Google and, oddly enough, even Amazon.
As to the reason why Lyft has failed to find a buyer, the report points to Lyft’s enormous asking price as a major sticking point:
Lyft failed to find a buyer partly because of cost, the people said. Lyft was valued at $5.5 billion after an investment round by G.M. and others in January, making it one of the more pre-eminent unicorn companies in Silicon Valley. Any sale would most likely have to fetch a premium from Lyft’s last valuation to be desirable to the company and its investors.
Word of Lyft’s interest in selling its business first emerged a few days ago amid reports that Lyft was positioning itself for a $9 billion buyout. That quote was apparently way too high and some companies like Microsoft decided not to even make an official offer, according to a recent report from Recode.
Taking a step back, the idea of Apple even entertaining the idea of acquiring Lyft may seem a bit odd at first glance, but remember that Apple this past May invested $1 billion into Didi Chuxing, the most popular ride-sharing service in China.
