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Ride hailing company Lyft recently approached several companies including Apple in an attempt to sell itself, according to a report by The New York Times.
The second-largest ride hailing firm in the U.S. held talks with or contacted Apple, Amazon, General Motors, Uber, Google, and Didi Chuxing over a potential sale, but was unable to find a buyer, said the newspaper's sources.
G.M., one of the San Francisco-based company's largest investors with a $500 million stake in Lyft, was reportedly the most interested suitor, but ultimately failed to make a written offer. The good news for Lyft is that it has a cash cushion of $1.4 billion and is not in danger of closing down, said the sources, despite the company not yet being profitable.
Earlier this month, Uber agreed to sell its Chinese arm to Didi Chuxing, which Apple recently invested $1 billion in.
The sale put a spanner in the works of Lyft's partnership with Didi, which allowed Didi customers to use their app to hail Lyft drivers, and vice versa. Lyft's so-called anti-Uber alliance with Didi is now in doubt and the U.S. based firm has said it is re-evaluating the agreement.
Top Rated Comments
Assuming ride sharing might tie into their car project, why can't Apple design their own version of Lyft or Uber if this is the road they are travelling down? Apple has the resources to do so, so why the need to look to, or invest, in another company?
Profit margins. Starting any endeavor involves cost. Possibly building a car and a ride sharing project would involve huge cost and take profit margins from the 30's that Apple enjoys to the mid to lower teens... which everyone else enjoys.