Uber an offer from the Japanese conglomerate Softbank and a major venture capital firm to buy a US$10 Billion stake in the ride-hailing company, which will see a big change in its volatile corporate culture.

"We've entered into an agreement with a consortium led by SoftBank and Dragoneer on a potential investment," Uber said in a statement.  "We believe this agreement is a strong vote of confidence in Uber's long-term potential.  Upon closing, it will help fuel our investments in technology and our continued expansion at home and abroad, while strengthening our corporate governance."

Softbank and Dragoneer will invest $1 Billion immediately, which Uber can use to invest in expansion amid growing competition from US rival Lyft.  In the coming weeks, they'll buy another $9 Billion in shares from existing investors.  Softbank is connected throughout most of the Asian markets in which Uber wants to expand, especially in India and Southeast Asia.

The deal will also push scandal-plagued founder Travis Kalanick further from the center of the Uber universe.  He is agreeing to give Uber's board majority approval over the board seats he controls should he ever wish to fill them again.  Kalanick demanded that benchmark capital agreed to suspend its lawsuit against him, and drop it when Softbank moves in and carries out some stabilizing reforms.

Kalanick resigned in June after a series of controversies, not least of which was presiding over a corporate culture of rampant sexism.  Uber also obtained the medical records of a woman who was raped by an Uber driver, resulting in a large settlement.