Kalanick vows to keep Uber private as long as possible

In an interview with CNBC late last week, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick confirmed that he does not expect his company to go public any time soon, and certainly not this year, or perhaps not even in five years: "I'm going to make sure it happens as late as possible," said Kalanick who added that thanks to successful fundraising (to the tune of $10bn over the last 18 months) he does not need public money and therefore wants to hold on to the flexibility offered by private funding. "I call it the moral obligation with investors who put money in, they need to see liquidity and of course we have employees as well who put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears to make Uber successful and they own equity and so have to ultimately find liquidity for all shareholders."

Investors in Uber and staff hoping for a fast flotation from the world's biggest ride-hailing service will be disappointed, chief executive Travis Kalanick told CNBC.

In an interview set to sadden investment bankers across the globe, Kalanick told CNBC he does not expect his company to go public anytime soon.



"I'm going to make sure it happens as late as possible," said Kalanick who has raised around $10 billion dollars for the company ‎over the last 18 months.



Kalanick also told CNBC that, thanks to this fundraising, he did not currently need public capital markets and wants to hold on to the flexibility offered by private funding.



"I call it the moral obligation with investors who put money in, they need to see liquidity and of course we have employees as well who put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears to make Uber successful and they own equity and so have to ultimately find liquidity for all shareholders."



Asked by CNBC's Geoff Cutmore if that meant a flotation in two, three, or five years, Kalanick replied. "I'll keep you posted, I have no idea."