The second largest ride-hailing service in the U.S., Lyft, has reportedly been trying to find relief from its fierce competition by approaching Apple and other top tech companies regarding a possible acquisition.
General Motors, Apple, Amazon, Google, Uber and Didi Chuxing all held talks or were approached by Lyft to buy the company, according to a New York Times report citing a dozen people who were involved in the discussions.
Despite Lyft’s overtures, the company has been unable to find a buyer that was interested in paying a premium for one of Silicon Valley’s biggest unicorns. The ride-hailing service was valued around $5.5 billion during a funding round in January.
If Apple had bought Lyft it would have been the company’s biggest acquisition ever, surpassing the $3 billion record set by the iPhone-maker’s purchase of Beats in 2014. It’s hard to imagine Lyft being a great acquisition target for Apple, as the company has already partnered with its Chinese rival Didi Chuxing.
All is not lost for Lyft yet. Even though it didn’t find a buyer and isn’t profitable yet, the company reportedly still has $1.4 billion of cash in the bank to continue operating as an independent entity while it figures out its next move.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
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